Everyday
by WritelkeUmeanit
Summary: Sequel to 'Hello,Goodbye'. And I've got three words to describe this one: Luke and fatherhood. Dun, dun, dun. Romance/Family/Humor/Drama/Friendship. Part Three in Series. That about covers it. Enjoy.
1. The One With The Weepy Anniversary

**Author's Note-**

_Finally, I present to you, my wonderful readers, the sequel to '__**Hello, Goodbye**__'. Enjoy! And please review before you go! Thank you, :). _

**Everyday**

**Chapter One: The One With The Weepy Anniversary**

It was a nice day, a beautiful one in fact. The season was winter and the air was crisp and cool. The sun hung high in the sky, working hard to melt away yesterday's snow. And it was doing a good job so far, heated rays zapping through the thick, white snow, making the previous day's storm a thing of the past. The streets of Stars Hollow were mostly cleared, plows working with the sun, but also having started before dawn, man teaming with machine to clean up the town.

Now, while a good part of the town was sans snow by this point, there was one particular spot that stood out from most of the rest. Though paths, driveways, and streets leading to said place were bare, other parts of the DragonFly held plenty of snow. Employees were told by their boss to, instead of piling the snow along the street, to please empty the powder over every blade of grass they could find. Lorelai loved looking out the window and finding a blanket of powdery goodness covering the lawn. She loved seeing her close friend, the beautiful snow. And since the woman in charge loved winter and everything that came with it, she always allowed- no, encouraged children staying on the grounds to run out to the lawn and play. Have a snow ball fight, build a fort, make a snowman, create angels- have fun. Why not enjoy the snow while it was there, that was her motto.

Sookie St. James, however, wasn't too thrilled with balled up packs of snow flying every which way as she trudged up the path and dragged her tired feet up the porch stairs. She had enough 'snow fun' at home with her own children running amok; she didn't need more of it here.

"You need to talk to her," Michel grumped from the foyer, a brush and pan in his hand as he tried to keep up with the leftover snow coming in from children rushing in and out.

While Sookie agreed with the man on this particular matter, she wouldn't dare bring up the snow annoyance to Lorelai, especially now. Instead, the chef swiped the paper from the front desk and flipped a few pages in- a routine she's been doing for the past couple of mornings- and this time found that the article was finally there. Sookie's eyes widened and quickly, she dashed for Lorelai's office.

"You won! You won! You won!" Sookie cheered while bursting through the room.

The pen in her hand went flying and her heart nearly sped out of her chest. "How 'bout a little warning next time, huh?" Lorelai said while reaching to the floor for the pen, but Sookie stopped her and picked it up instead.

"Forget the warning; you won!" the chef insisted while holding the Stars Hollow Gazette high in the air.

"Surprise, surprise," Lorelai muttered while taking the paper.

Sookie frowned. "Bad night?"

"And morning."

"I'm sorry, sweetie."

Lorelai shrugged. "Comes with the territory. I'm just glad it's almost over," she said greatfully, her voice showing how tired she was.

"Two months!"

"Hopefully," Lorelai wished through a sigh while looking down to rub her hands over her rounded belly.

"Fingers crossed," Sookie said while holding up her twined fingers.

Lorelai rolled her eyes, but a grin popped on her face.

"So come on, read it, read it; I wanna hear!"

Lorelai frowned. "But you know the story, you watched it happen- well, most of it," she said while smirking down at her pregnant tummy.

"But you and Luke are so cute! I wanna hear your story of love!" she gushed.

Lorelai sighed while giving in and opening the paper up on her desk. She passed a few pages, then stopped at the Valentines Day special, which of course, was late in being printed. Something having to do with Kirk and messing with the printing machine- Lorelai wasn't sure. But the contest was weeks late in announcing a winner and printing their 'Story of Love' contest. It was there now though. And Lorelai and Luke's story won first place.

The Danes had a feeling, before even putting pen to paper, that they'd win. She knew the odds were in their favor. The town cheered them on for years, wanting them to get together, get married and have little mini Lukes and Lorelais. Checks were next to the first two and the third was in the process of. And although the prize wasn't anything fancy, just a gift basket with little things from neighboring businesses and such, when she found the ad in the paper weeks ago, promoting the contest, she thought it was cute. That particular afternoon, she happened to be caught up on paper work and Michel was manning the front desk and so she grabbed a pen and let her fingers do the talking. She wrote and wrote and wrote until she couldn't write anymore. And out came their story.

"_March 27th, 2005: the day Luke Danes went nuts, lost his marbles, misplaced them, sold them to Kirk, something like that. And the reason I say this is because that afternoon, that cold, perfect, winter afternoon, he married me. He promised to give me forever. Crazy, right? I think so, but he did. I swear. And I've got the ring and buns baking to prove it."_

"Aww!" Sookie interupted with her hands over her heart.

Lorelai looked up to give her friend a smile. "Insane, huh? Me and Luke. Who knew?"

"I did! And you know, everyone else," she said with a shrug.

Lorelai rolled her eyes.

"Go on, go on," Sooke urged.

"_Our honeymoon was something I'll never forget. We spent two weeks vacationing away from Stars Hollow, making love every minute we weren't doing something else and we didn't do a whole lot else, so that should give you an idea on the count. I started keeping track, but after a week or so, I lost the tally sheet, so I can't give you an offical number, but it was respectable. Very, very respectable."_

"_The first week, we went up to Luke's cabin. He surprised me with the trip. See, first, I just thought we were going to Florida- very cliché, I know, but it seemed like a good spot. Lots of beach, sun and water. And it was great there, but anyway, back to the cabin. It was all Luke's doing and at first, I wasn't so sure, but when I got there, I did a complete three sixty. It wasn't a shack in the woods with a porta- potty, like I thought, but a solid structure with a wrap around porch and everything. It was beautiful. And so unexpected."_

"_See, the place was his dad's and I never thought he'd want to take me there. He usually kept that stuff to himself but for that week, he opened that part of his past to me. And it was wonderful. We went on his dad's boat- he finished it just days before our wedding, another surprise he kept- we took walks outside, had lazy, movie days, went out into town a few times... it really started the honeymoon off with a bang. Destination one was a big hit. Five stars all the way. Two thumbs way, way up."_

"_After that, we went down to Florida. We stayed at a hotel near the beach and spent time lying in the sand, listening to the water. It was nice. And a little surprising. I mean Luke was never a big beach buy and I took it as a mojor victory, getting him to step foot on the beach. I even wrangled him into wearing shorts and flip flops. And the way he strut his stuff across the sand... priceless. Although the actual walking part he wasn't all too fond of. Trying to walk across lumpy mounds of sand isn't easy and should only be attempted by pros, but once we found a spot to lie down, he admitted it wasn't so bad. I even got him to sneak out at night and make love to me on the beach. He resisted a little, complained about sand getting to places it shoudn't ever be, worried over getting caught, but I discovered many moons ago that I have quite the powers of peruasion when it comes to getting my hubby to do things he doesn't want to do," _Lorelai read with a growing grin.

"Sex on the beach," Sookie said through a sigh, her eyes and voice dreamy. "That man would jump through hoops of fire for you, wouldn't he?"

"He'd give me the world if he could," Lorelai said while ducking her head, a smile appearing on her face at the memory of the night Luke told her just that.

"Oh my God! He's the peanut butter to your jelly! The bologna to your cheese! The dressing to your salad! The sauce to your pasta! The gravy to your mashed potatoes! The-"

"Okay, hit the pause button, Sook, you're making me hungry," Lorelai interupted with a grin.

Sookie apologized through her giggles but before Loerlai could get back to reading, she was needed out by the desk, and so Sookie headed for the kitchen, realizing she hadn't checked in with her staff yet. By the time she was able to escape, Lorelai was gone.

"They're just so perfect together," Sookie murmured with a watery smile after coming from Lorelai's office.

Michel gave her a look, the man confused, but his curiosity wasn't peaked enough to ask questions. And frankly, he didn't care.

_Gyno Office_

"They're gonna put me on bed rest," Lorelai complained just after Luke opened the passenger door to help her out.

"You don't know that," he denied softly .

"Yes I do," she insisted stubbornly. "I'm almost eight months pregnant with twins, Luke, they won't want to risk premature labor," she explained, her tone telling him she was clearly unhappy with the idea of bed rest.

"We'll find out everything when we go inside," he said calmy.

"Stop trying to placate me," Lorelai snapped while yanking her arm back and sliding from the car herself.

Luke sighed. He took a step back, but kept watchful eyes on her as she got to her feet.

"Come on, we're already late," Lorelai warned, her hands on her belly as she waddled up the sidewalk.

Luke was quick to follow.

They walked through the office ten minutes after their appointment was scheduled for and when Lorelai noticed the time, she turned to Luke, her eyes burning with anger and Luke did the best he could to brace himself in the short time, but he couldn't do much. The sudden mood swings usually came from nowhere-hence the name-and he's had to do his best to deal with them, the man knowing some few choice words aimed at him or a crabby, angry Lorelai was a small price for their twins to come into this world safe and healthy. And so he usually just took it, not giving much of a fight, if any.

"If you picked me up when I asked you to, we would've been here on time," Lorelai scolded, her voice low as she lowered herself to a chair. "Now we have to wait."

"I'm sorry," he apologized. And even if he had an excuse, he wouldn't give it. They were so close to the finish line and the last thing he wanted was Lorelai's stress level to be any higher than need be. He's read some books, asked questions and so he knew the dangers of high blood pressure and all that. Getting into an arugmeunt wasn't worth the risk, especially over this, over being late. Over something this small.

Lorelai sighed while looking back at the clock, then darting her gaze to the table. Her eyes scanned the selection of magazines and after nothing caught her interest, she turned to Luke, just a quick peak. His legs were spread out, his arms resting on his thighs and his head hung. The sight of him looking worried, and concerned melted the anger from her eyes. Lorelai reached her arm over and twined her fingers through his, giving his hand a squeeze. The man looked up and smiled, knowing the move meant he was forgiven. But that wasn't what he was worried about. He knew this small tide would pass. That wasn't what was bothering him.

Luke had been thinking back to the visit when the doctor said that one of the heart beat's was a little slower than the other. The woman assured them it was nothing serious, a very small difference from normal, but still, he couldn't help but worry. He's had things just come and go in his life and now he was deteremined to make sure this wouldn't be just a passing ship. They would get their babies.

"Mrs. Danes?" the receptionist called miutes later. "The doctor's ready for you."

After Lorelai changed into a gown, the doctor came in with a smile and a clipboard. "Hey, Lorelai," she greeted her patient, having known the Danes since way back years ago, when the name was still Gilmore and when she was just starting her medical career. Kate first met the teen when Lorelai was pregnant at 16 and although the contact was through her mother, Lorelai wanted to keep the woman as her gyno. She just didn't want to go around trying to find somone else to look up her hoohah when there was already someone doing that. One was enough.

"Hey, Kate. How's Andy?"

"Great," the woman said while reading over her notes. "He's up to no good though. He's been working like crazy, pulling double shifts, working over time..." she trailed through a sigh. "He did the same thing before we had Emma, like he was trying to save up money, show me he was responsible, so I think he wants another baby. I'm waiting for that bomb to drop, but maybe I'll get lucky and my baby hour glass will run out of sand before he gets the guts to say something," she said while pulling on some gloves and taking a seat next to Lorelai. "But enough about me; how are you and the peanuts doing?" she asked with a smirk.

"Good," Lorelai reported through a nod while rubbing her big belly. "But my sleepings been off. It's hard for me to get comfortable and then of course, I wake up every hour to pee."

"You try the pillow thing?" Dr. Webber asked while getting the sonogram machine ready.

"Yeah, and it helps a little. Not much," she sighed. She's been sleeping on her side and propping a pillow underneath her belly for more support.

"What about, daddy? Still worrying 24/7?" the doctor asked with a grin while looking up a Luke.

The man nodded. "I always worry," he said, his voice gruff.

Lorelai frowned while reaching her arm out and Luke quickly took his left one from his picket to hold his wife's hand. "He even freaks now when I go to work. Ever since I fell, he's been watching me like a hawk, calling the Inn every 20 minutes, popping by to check up on me... he's sweet, but can you please tell him I'm okay? I don't like that he's always worrying about me."

The doctor smiled while motioning for Lorelai to lift her shirt so she could spread the sono gell over her skin. "I would, but I have a feeling nothing I say will stop his fretting and until these kids are born, grown and college graduates, he'll keep worrying. Probably even after that."

"Yup," Luke agreed.

Lorelai sighed.

Soon, the sonogram machine was up and running and a picture popped on screen. Seeing it, just a little bit of fear washed from Luke's body when they heard both heart beats strong and alive. Hopefully, that minor problem was a thing of the past.

After the appointment finished up and Lorelai was changed and ready to go, the doctor brought up something she forgot to say before.

"You were early with Rory, right? More than two weeks?" Katie asked while looking back at the old notes.

"Yeah," Lorelai said with a confused frown while casting a glance at Luke.

"I forgot to mention this earlier, but I think you know that it's been said sex can trigger labor?" she questioned. Lorelai nodded. "Well, normally, I wouldn't be too worried, but because Rory came early and you're carrying twins, I really think it would be best if the two of you could save the horizontal sports until after you have the baby," she warned.

"No sex?" Lorelai asked with a frown.

The doctor shook her head. "You're almost in your eighth month and since sex can help get things going, I really want you to refrain. A lot of mothers without a history of premature labor already have their babies early when carrying twins and because of having Rory early, you're a bigger risk. Now, I don't want you to worry too much, but I do think we should do anything to help. I want you to get as close to your due date as possible."

Luke nodded. "Makes senese," he agreed, ready to do anything to help.

Lorelai looked up to glare at the man. After shooting him a few daggers, she returned her attention to Kate and said, "so I'm guessing you want to put me on bed rest too?" she questioned, her face mad and sad at the same time.

The doctor smiled while shaking her head at the thought. "Not entirely, not yet. I just want you to stay off your feet as much as possible. Even something as small as walking here and there can help induce too, so I want you to be careful, okay?"

"Okay," Lorelai agreed while folding her arms over chest, her lips almost pouting.

"And you," the woman continued while looking up at Luke. "Keep up the hawk thing. She needs to lie down, put her feet up and take it easy whenever possible. I'm putting you on rest patrol."

Luke nodded, his face serious, more than willing to take on the job. "I'll take care of her," he promised.

"Good," Kate said with a smile. "Then I'll see you guys in a couple of weeks."

It took about half an hour to get from Hartford to home and when they got back to Stars Hollow, Luke helped Lorelai to the living room, where their bed sat. His wife was tired and she fell asleep on the car ride home and so it wasn't a battle to get her to lie down. Luke helped her change from her jeans and top into sweats, a tank and one of his flannels the buttons not able to hook around her big belly- then steered her into bed. And with a sigh, the man went to do some laundry.

It was a maze, trying to navigate through the house, especially going up to the second floor and back, or vice versa. There was still a bit of construction going on and boxes cluttered rooms, making it a pain in the ass to get from one place to the next. But thankfully, he remembered that everything was almost finished.

Luke didn't like that this whole fiasco was and has been going on while his wife was pregnant and Lorelai wasn't too nuts about the noise, the mess and the bedroom relocaton either, but there was a thing with the twickham house before everything. When the old man died, Taylor turned the place into a museum, then soon after, it closed and hardly anyone really visited. So it was shut down and the house went up for sale. Luke and Lorelai looked into it after he made arrangments but he could see- despite her agreeing to look at it- that she didn't want to move. And so, months earlier, the construction started. Bigger bedroom, bigger bathroom and two bedrooms added upstaris. It started as one, but when they learned twins were coming, it became two. But the crew promised just a couple more weeks, and the work would be done. Nearly just in time too.

After gathering some towels from the upstairs bath- the room finished- Luke wondered back down stairs for more clothes to throw in. He stopped at the bed and tossed Lorelai's things into the basket, but before he could get up, something caught his attention. Being curious, the man reached for the folded up gazette papers and opened them. His eyes widened at the title of the article.

_**Valentines Day: A Story of Love: Luke and Lorelai Danes**_

Of course he was confused, but he read on to find out he and Lorelai were the winners of a valentines day contest.

_My name is Lorelai Gilmore and my husband is Luke Danes. This is our story. _That's how it started and after his eyes trailed over the words, he went on, wanting to see what Lorelai had to say about them. She talked about their wedding day, about the cabin, about Florida, and started to talk about their lives when the honeymoon ended.

_...I have quite the powers of persuasion when it comes to getting my hubby to do things he doesn't want to do. Call it a gift, call it luck, but I call it my secret weapon. I call it sex apeal. I call it my little black dress and my oh so heart wrenching pout. I call it sad, blue eyes. Oh, and a good hair flip doesn't hurt either. _

Luke couldn't help but laugh at the words. She was right. It got him everytime.

_When we got home and the festivites were all said and done, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared. And nervous, I was nervous too. I mean come on, I never lived with anyone but my daughter and maybe it was silly to be freaking out because I've known Luke for years, but I was. I panicked a little. Everyone warns you about marriage being difficult and with people getting divorced left and right... well, I didn't want us to become another statistic. I didn't want us to fail. We're both very stubborn people and so naturally, I thought we'd have problems. But to tell you the truth, we didn't. I mean don't get me wrong, we fight and have probably mastered the art of screaming by now, but we always find a way to fix it. I'll always love him and I know he's crazy about me. God can only figure out why, but he is. I make him happy. I'm his world. I remember the night he first told me that. After my parents vow renewel and we sort of proposed to eachother. But anyway, that's a story for another time. _

_So we got back and Luke moved in. Things were a little crammed, but that was really the only problem. I mean we spent about everynight together anyway, so it wasn't hard having a boy in my room, having him sleep in my bed. It was pretty easy, actually, and gave new meaning to the whole, having a midnight snack, thing. _

Luke peaked over at Lorelai and couldn't help but smile. "Only you, crazy lady," he murmured, his voice low before his gaze returned to the paper.

_Things started getting back to normal pretty quickly. I went back to the Dragonfly and Luke went back to the diner. I would stop by for breakfast and lunch most days and he would come by whenever I needed something fixed at the Inn. If we couldn't meet up for dinner, I'd go the diner and he'd eat with me whenver he had a free minute. It was hectic, the two of us trying to run our respective businesses and run a marriage, but its always been that way for us. At the end of everyday, we'd slid into bed together, he'd put his arm around me and ask how my day went. We'd talk, sometimes for a while. And make love too- that is, if we weren't too tired. And we usually weren't. Things didn't really change much, which was great. It was just like before we got married, but now his toothbrush was next to mine, instead of the spare I bought him. He's here everynight, every morning, every minute the diner or errands dont keep him away- you get the picture. Things were good, for the most part. And then I got pregnant. _

Luke frowned, his eyes trailing to the next paragraph, but before he could get there, the phone rang. He was late getting back to work and Caesar needed to leave for the day. But he swiped the article, tucked it away in his pocket, scribbled down a quick note for Lorelai, then headed out.

&&&

Lorelai stirred sometime later, '_livin la vida loca'_ playing from her phone, having woken her up. With closed eyes, her hand gropped around for the annoying device and finally, she found it. Lorelai flipped the screen open, pressed the phone to her ear and called out, 'hello?' a bunch of times before realizing she received a text, not a phone call. It was from Rory, asking how the appointment went. Lorelai wrote back, _'Good, but no more sex for the preggo. Details later. Love you.'_ And then she worked her way out of bed, hubbled off to the bathroom and peed for the millionth time that day. She never knew a person could pee so much. Apparently they can.

Meanwhile, at the diner, after the lunch rush passed and the place had calmed down, Luke was able to steal away with Lane coming in for her shift. He ran up to his dad's old office, the place still holding a bed and table, and as of recently, storage from home, and sat down in the almost bare kitchen. He pullled the article from his pocket and continued reading.

… _It was just like before we got married, but now his toothbrush was next to mine, instead of the spare I bought him. He's here everynight, every morning, every minute the diner or errands dont keep him away- you get the picture. Things were good, for the most part. And then I got pregnant. _

_Now, I don't want to give anyone the wrong idea here; I wanted to have a baby. We both did. Luke was the one who actually brought it up. Shocking, I know. I never thought he'd want kids. Ever since I've known him, he's never been to fond of children- well, Rory, but that's different. They just always clicked. He's known her since she was a kid. They've had this relationhip seperate from me, and I love that. He was always nice to her just to be nice, just because he liked her, not ever because he was trying to get to me, that I'm sure of. _

_So, thinking he'd never want a baby, I never really thought about it. I didn't want to get my hopes up. I was okay with it being me and him and Rory. Our own little unique family. But then we had 'the talk', a very short verson of the talk and it was decided. He flew solo during our honeymoon and eveyrtime after that. But it didn't happen right away. I thought it would. We were on our honeymoon, it had to happen. So many couples get pregnant during the honeymoon. It's like a given. A cosmic rule or something. Condom or not, the seed shall be planted. Or so I thought. Unfortuenately, I was wrong. _

"Luke! I need back up!" Lane's voice shouted from the first floor.

The man sighed at yet another interruption, but regardless, duty called. He stood up, stuffed the article in his back pocket, then dragged his feet down stairs. He quickly got back into the swing of things but while passing the window on his way to deliver food to a table, something caught his eyes and he stopped to look.

Kirk and Joe were out by the Gazebo, trying to hang a banner up. The two morons took long enough, but finally they got the banner into place and Luke groaned after reading what was written across it.

_**Luke and Lorelai! This Year's Ultimate Lovers!**_

Then Kirk and Joe went back and forth between the Soda Shoppe and the square, bringing out leftover Valentines day candy, buttons, stuffed hearts and other things associated with the quote on quote, holiday. But what Luke didnt know at the time was that pictures of him and Lorelai were stamped on the buttons, their headshots on the pillows and much more. Then the two stood inside the gazebo with fruity hats on, holding up the newspaper and calling out prices for souvenirs.

"You better hide, Taylor," Luke warned under his breath, knowing the crazy man spear headed the whole thing.

After finishing up his shift and closing the place early, Luke headed for home, stopping to pick up flowers for his wife on the way. And of coruse, a present was sitting in his pocket for their one year anniversery. He bought blue tulips, the flowers being one of Lorelai's favorites and the color reminding him so much of her blue eyes.

When Luke reached home, he walked in to find Lorelai sitting up in bed, her eyes on the television and a spoon of rocky road ice cream in her mouth.

"Hey," he said while sneaking to the kitchen, wanting to put the flowers in water so she wouldn't have to get up.

"Hey," Lorelai mumbled before pulling the spoon from her mouth.

"You feeling okay?" Luke called, asking the same question he did everyday.

"My back hurts," Lorelai complained.

"I'm sorry," Luke apolgoized with a sympathetic frown while waling down the hall with a vase hidden behind his back.

"Your fault," Lorelai muttered under her breath, low enough that Luke didn't hear.

"Here, I got you these," he said while standing beside the bed, just before pulling the flowers into view.

Lorelai looked at the tulips, her brows furrowed as the spoon slid from her mouth. "What are those for?"

"Our anniversary," he explained and when she still looked confused, his face fell. "It is the 27th right? March 27th?" he asked, hoping he didnt get his days mixed up.

Lorelai reached over to her night stand and swipped her phone, quickly flipping it open to find that it was indeed March 27th 2006.

"Oh my God," Lorelai panicked. "It can't be."

"What's wrong?" Luke asked anxiously while sitting down next to her.

"I forgot- I didn't realize-I-"

"Hey, hey, it's okay," Luke assured her, not wanting her get worked up.

"No its not, it's not okay that I forgot our anniversary," she sobbed, tears suddenly springing into her eyes and at the sight, Luke quickly put the flowers down and cupped her face in his hands. "You've just been so good to me, giving me anything I want, making sure I'm okay, doing everything around here and I forget our anniversary," Lorelai went on, clearly upset with herself over the mishap as a few tears tumbled over the edge, but Luke's thumbs were there to wipe them away.

"I have a present for you," he whispered, his voice just inches from her cheek before he left a kiss on her damp skin.

"But I don't have anything for you!" she stressed, getting even more upset when she realized she didn't buy a gift for him.

"I don't need anything. Got what I need right here," he assured her, his voice gruff before his lips pressed a kiss to her forehead, then his hands reached to pull a black box from his pocket.

"Luke, no, I can't," she started while wiping her eyes.

"Yes you can; you love presents," he enticed with a grin.

Lorelai managed to crack a small smile before sighing and focusing her eyes on the box. "I can't believe you got me something," she awed. "And after I kicked you outta bed last night... I've been horrible to you and you're being amazing."

"You weren't feeling well, you were in pain, you couldn't get comfortable, we had a fight, it's okay," he said with a shrug.

"We didn't have a fight; you didn't even yell back at me."

Luke sighed. "I know this is hard for you. Some days are really good, but some are really bad and I know you want to quit sometimes, but we're almost there, Lorelai," he encouraged with a smile while brushing her hair from her face and tucking the locks behind her ear. "Everything's on you, you're carrying the babies and everyday you have to deal with everything that comes with it; the least I can do is take care of things around the house. And I know you get fustrated sometimes and I'm usually the only one here so you take it out on me, but I know you don't mean it."

"I don't," Lorelai agreed, her voice low and her eyes on her lap. "I'm sorry."

"I know," Luke said with a loving smile. "And I'll take all the verbal abuse you can give, as long as you hold up your end of the bargain," he said with a smirk.

Lorelai giggled while looking up at him, her eyes watery. "I love you."

"Love you too, now open it," he whispered while tilting his chin at the box.

Lorelai nodded, wiping her cheeks a last time before taking her present and propping open the box. Her eyes widened at the silver charm bracelet that appeared. Carefully, she scooped the jewelry out and held in in her hands. And quickly, she realized what it was.

"This is real, isn't it?" she asked in awe. "Sterling silver."

Luke nodded. "I wouldn't give you something fake," he said with a shrug.

"But the money, it had to be expensive, you didn't have to do this," she protested.

"Don't worry about that; I want you to have it."

"But,"

"Look," Luke said, wanting to distract her, "Read," he instructed while holding up the charm.

Lorelai focused her eyes on the heart shaped charm sitting between his fingers and saw that it said, "_One Year Down, Forever to go_," her voice reading the words aloud.

"That came on it, but I added this," he said while flipping the heart over.

Lorelai peaked around his fingers and read, "_I'll Always Keep You in Coffee._ Oh, babe," she gushed, her hand going over her heart as new tears showed up, the water clouding her blue eyes.

"Here, let me put it on for you," Luke said with a smie while taking the bracelet and hooking the toogle clasp around her wrist. "The lady said new charms can be added, so you know, more to come as the years go by," he said with a grin.

"You'll keep me in charms too," she said with a teary smile.

"Yes," Luke agreed, his voice soft.

Lorelai spread the pad of her finger over the charm, over Luke's promise and she couldn't help but feel worse about forgetting the date. She's just been swamped at work, and not feeling well, her body hurting, her mind worrying... it just slipped her thoughts.

"I knew it," Lorelai murmured, her eyes on her present.

"Knew what?"

"I knew I'd be a sucky wife. You shouldn't have married me. I mean even the ditzy blondes can remember anniversaries. Maybe you should find a blonde."

"Maybe you're crazy," Luke said with a grin.

"I don't have a present for you," Lorelai sulked while looking up at him with sad, watery eyes.

Luke was about to say something, but then he remembered what was tucked away in his jeans. "I know what you can do for me," he said while standing up and reaching for his pants.

Lorelai sighed. "Giving junior some attention isn't a present; I do that anyway."

Luke didn't bother to grumble a jeez or roll his eyes, instead his pulled the article from his pocket and unfolded the few pages to show her. "You can read this, Mrs. Contest Winner."

Lorelai frowned. "Since when do you buy the Stars Hollow Gazette?"

"I don't. I found this in your pocket when I was doing laundry. Taylor's got Kirk and Joe in the Gazebo, selling Luke and Lorelai themed crap," he complained.

"Sorry, babe," she apologized through a smirk. "It was just something fun, and I don't know, I like that part of our story is on paper. There forever. It's kinda cool," she said with a shrug.

"It's okay," Luke assured her. "I started reading earlier, but didn't get to finish. And you know, since you forgot to get me soemthing, I thought you could finish it for me," he said with a smile.

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "I'll read, but you have to be my pillow," she bargained.

Luke nodded. He kicked his shoes off, then unbuttoned his newly grease stained flannel and tossed it on the banister before swiping a pair of sweats from his dresser draw- the piece of furnutre having been moved downstairs because of the expansion/remodel- and slid into bed behind Lorelai. He propped his back agianst the head board and wrapped his arms around his wife's pregnant belly the best he could. Luke nudged the tank further up her tummy and spread his fingers over her warm skin while whispering, "lotion later," close to her ear before trailing a few kisses down her neck.

Lorelai sighed, fighting to keep her eyes open while taking the article in her hands and bringing it close to see. "Tease," she murmured.

"Just celebrating," he said with a shrug and a smile while looking up, his hands still on her belly before he nudged his chin at the winning article.

"Where'd you leave off?" Lorelai asked.

Luke pointed to the paragraph he stopped at and from there, Lorelai continued reading.

"_... So many couples get pregnant during the honeymoon. It's like a given. A cosmic rule or something. Condom or not, the seed shall be planted. Or so I thought. Unfortuenately, I was wrong."_

Lorelai sighed.

"We're getting there," Luke reminded her, his voice low.

Lorelai turned to smile at her husband before he leaned his chin on her shoulder.

"_Maybe I got spoiled with Rory and so I thought it would just happen, you know? I thought we'd get it on the first try. I just had this feeling we would, but my gut was wrong. The next month came and a pregnancy test wasn't needed. I was disapointed and I could see Luke was too. I mean we weren't fresh out of college, newley weds during their prime; the clock was ticking, especially mine."_

"_Still though, it was just a month. That's what everyone told me and I quickly repeated the words over and over again like a mantra. But then spring was a thing of the past and still, no needed test. I knew logically, a couple of months with no luck was no big deal- people go years trying without getting results, but I remember waking up from a bad dream about the whole thing at four in the morning and crying my self back to sleep."_

"What?" Luke interupted, confused. He didn't know that happened.

"I didn't want to worry you," Lorelai explained while lowering the papers to her belly. "It was only June and I was worried enough for the both of us. I mean I'm almost 40, I'm no spring chicken and after that first month, I realized it wasn't a guarantee for us," she said, her voice quiet as she put her hand on her belly, right above Luke's.

"You shouldn't have hid that from me."

"You had a rough day, you were tired, sleeping... I didn't want you to worry about me," she repeated.

"I don't want you crying alone, Lorelai," he said while looking down at her tummy, at their babies. "I'm in this with you."

"I know you are, babe," she said, a smile tugging at her lips as she put her hand over Luke's and twinned her fingers between his. "Thank you."

Luke nodded. "Next time, wake me up."

"Okay, I will."

Luke sighed. "Read," he requested, his voice soft.

"_And then in the middle of everything, of trying to get pregnant, of learning how to be a wife, old man Twickham did. The house was turned into a museum. Luke was there a lot, helping out and I was naïve enough to buy his sad story that he felt bad for not seeing the man before he died and wanted to make up for his mistake,"_ she read with a growing grin. _"And while this was going on, Luke was stressed- about the house too, I later learned- stressed about work, about trying for a baby and I was too. I was worried. The Inn was packed with summer tourists and I was always there, always working and one day we just blew up at eachother. It started over something stupid. I can't even remember what anymore, but it quickly escladed into a fight. We were both just on edge. He screamed, I screamed and we didn't make up until the next night. It was the biggest fight we've ever had, and the longest we've gone without saying sorry. And right then, right when we did, I promised myself to never go to bed angry with him again... I tried to keep that promise but being pregnant and crabby doesn't help things. But I'm trying to be better and hopefully I'll go back to normal once I have the peanuts." _

"Amen," Luke agreed.

"Yeah, yeah. Now quite, I'm trying to read."

"_Anyway, it was late summer and still, nothing. I wasn't pregnant. And that whole desperate times calls for desperate measures thing- compeletly true. I did something I never thought I'd do. I talked to my mother. And she told me something I never knew. She and my dad tried for over a year before they finally had me. And that made me feel better. I wasn't going to be impatient anymore; I would wait. And finally, in the fall, something magical happened. I missed my period. Tests came out positive. I was pregnant. I ran to the diner, told Luke and the look on his face... pure shock. A stack of plates dropped from his hands and he gave me a grapefruit,"_ she read through her giggles.

"Can't believe you ate it."

"You played the baby card; I had no choice."

Luke smiled. "We need more apples; thanks for reminding me."

"I do like the apples. Its the grapefruit I have issues with," she grumped.

"Good for you," Luke murmured. "Good for them."

"Again with the baby card."

"Read," Luke urged through a smirk.

"_And while the leaves were changing, Luke did something stupid. He bought a house without telling me. That was another fight when I found out."_

"Yup," Luke agreed.

"_But once the dust settled, I looked at the house and I guess Luke could see my heart wasn't really in it. Everything ended there. Plans for the expansion began and my bedroom's in my living room. It's been chaotic, but the product will be great. I can't wait to see our new house."_

"_It's been a heck of a ride so far. Finding out I'm carrying twins, nuts. Everything going on at home, crazy. My daughter close to being a college senior, insane. Luke and I together, his seeds in my belly, absolutely perfect."_

"Jeez," Luke threw in.

"_Who woulda thought? But it all works. We're happy. I can't wait to see my baby graduate Yale. I'm excited for the improvements on our house. And I'm over the moon about our babies. Just a few months to go and they'll be here. I'm gonna be a mom of twins. I'm gonna have three kids. Luke's gonna be a daddy. It's completely out there, but so completely right. This is our life and I wouldn't trade it for the world,"_ she finished.

Luke sighed before kissing her cheek. "Happy?" he asked from behind her.

"So incredibly happy," she said, her voice sincere.

"Good," Luke said while reaching to the night stand for Lorelai's lotion. "Pull your shirt up," he whispered.

Lorelai smiled. "Yes, sir. But remember, no funny business. We can't do the horizontal mombo until after the buns are done baking," she said with a grin

**To be continued...**

_(Pictures of Lorelai's charm bracelet are up on facebook. Link in my profile.)_** Hope everyone had fun reading! I'd love some opinions before you go. :). **


	2. The One Where Lorelai Has The Twins

**Author's Note- **

_I want to thank, **xcanncx, suusje32, sarahb2007, coffeebeanner, Loridhhp, chloe2007, javajunkie86, Copop, itzcheeseball, Jeremy Shane, Emiiily, **for reviewing the first chapter!!! Thank you all so much for the wonderful comments and my fingers crossed that you keep 'em coming!!! _

**Everyday: **

**Chapter Two: The One Where Lorelai Has The Twins**

It was Wednesday afternoon and as every single Wednesday afternoon went, Emily Gilmore was sitting in her beloved hair salon while skimming through a magazine. She was passing time while the dye in her hair was busy wrapping around her locks, the color seeking out every strand and sticking to each one like magnets being pulled to a fridge. The color was the same, the same color she's used for decades, a shade of auburn that her husband loved. When she spotted that first grey many moons ago, she went out and searched for the closest thing she could find to match her natural color. And sitting there on a shelf between jet black and warm gold was a shade of auburn. She snatched it up quickly, stood in line, payed for the product then pulled out her cell phone and checked in with Eilen, her hair dresser. The appointment was already made for the next day, as Wednesdays were planned in advanced all the time, and at two o'clock on the dot, Emily showed up with the box and Eilen went to work. She didn't trust anyone to make up the color themselves, even Eilen who she's known for years, so she took it upon herself to buy her own. And ever since, it's been the same store, the same hair dye, the same time at the salon, the same chair, and always a copy of the newest _Vogue_ sitting in her hand while she waited. Everything was planned and went like clock work. Everything ran smoothly. And then something interupted her routine.

On April 29 th, 2006, Wednesday afternoon at exactly 2:12 p.m, Emily got the call. Her cell phone buzzed in her purse and after letting an annoyed sigh escape from her lips, she reached into her bag and pulled out the device, flipping it open and pressing it to her ear while picking her magazine up and returning most of her attention to the article she was reading.

"Hello," she called, her tone of voice letting the other person know just how thrilled she was about having her 'me' time disturbed.

"_Emily, it's Luke, Lorelai's having the twins,"_ he reported in a panicked rush.

Her eyes widened as the magazine fell from her hands. "Is she alright? How long has she been there? Why didn't you call me sooner?" the Gilmore demanded while quickly gathering her things.

"_We just got here," _he told her while circling around, his eyes darting to Lorelai's room that was just down the hall. _"She's okay though, I mean I think she's okay; they have her lying in bed and all this stuff hooked up to her and she sent me to call everyone,"_ he explained helplessly.

Emily nodded while standing and searching for her keys which were buried somewhere in her purse. "Have you called Richard?"

"_No, he's next. I just got off the phone with Rory."_

"I'll call Richard; you call Sookie. I'm sure Lorelai will want her friend there," Emily said while fishing around her bag.

"_Yeah, yeah, good idea,"_ Luke said while nodding at thought, his mind trying to figure out if there was anyone else he should call. Casear already knew since the call came at the diner while Luke was working, so that was taken care of. Sookie would tell Michel at the Inn when he called her, so that was good. Rory already knew and was on her way. Liz and T.J had been having lunch at his place, so they knew. "_I should call Sookie, get back to Lorelai,"_ he said after realizing there was no one left. The town would find out on its own, just like it always managed to.

"Yes, yes, go," Emily urged just after finding her keys, then hurrying around the salon to get to the door. "I'll be there in ten minutes," she promised.

Just after they hung up, Luke slipped another quarter though and dialed the Inn. Michel picked up the phone after letting it ring twenty or thirty times and Luke, not having the time or patience to deal with the man and explain everything, immiedatly asked for Sookie, deciding that going straight to the source was his best bet. He told the chef what happened, how Lorelai was lying in bed at home- as she left work for maternity leave just days ago- when he got the call at the diner that her water broke. He rushed over there, and by the time he got home the contractions were coming. He got her into the car, drove like a crazy manaic to get to the hospital and now Lorelai was all set up in a room, waiting for him. Sookie yelled 'coming!' before hanging up the phone and after that call ended, Luke hurried back to the room.

"Hey," he said before leaning over to catch his breath.

Lorelai looked up at him, a small grin on her face. "Not the track star you used to be, huh, butch?"

The man shook his head. "I must be getting old; I can't even run down the hall without losing it."

"Happens to them all, young or old," the nurse assured him with a smile while her eyes went to the fetal monitor. "Especially to the first time dads."

"It's his first time," Lorelai confirmed. "And the poor guy's gettin' twins," she said, sympathy in her voice while she reached her hand out and Luke quickly laced his fingers through hers while sitting down in a chair next to the bed. He then rested their joint hands on the mattress next to her thighs while being careful not to mess with the I.V in her hand, while also doing everything to keep his eyes from straying to the needle. He wasn't too good with hospitals, especially having to see things sticking outta people. Always freaked him out.

"I see someone decided to jump the gun," Kate said while walking through the room.

"Blame the soccer stars," Lorelai defended, "Damn kids always kicking me," she grumbled. "I was just sitting at home, looking at pictures of this year's top ten hottest bachelors when they got bored and decided to play with mommy's water and then someone went and popped it."

"Jeez," Luke grumped. "They didn't pop it."

"They were probably fighting over who gets to play with the sqeeze toy first when one of them squeezed too hard and out it came," she explained. "And now you don't get to have any fun; you'll just have to wait until you come out, and no arguing over who gets to go go first," she warned. "Whichever one of you is bigger goes first, that way the next one can just slide on out. And if you're both good, you can play with mommy's udders after you get all cleaned up," she said while grinning down at her bloated tummy.

Luke sighed while Kate couldn't help but laugh a little as she slipped the clipboard into its spot at the foot of the bed, then checked up on the monitor.

"Everything seems to be looking good," the woman noted.

"Yeah?" Lorelai asked while looking up with hopeful eyes.

Kate nodded. "And you made it after 36 weeks so by all means, give birth whenever you feel the need to do so," she said with a smirk.

Lorelai turned to look at Luke with big, excited, happy eyes. She hadn't realized the date. "We did it!" she cheered.

"We did what?" Luke asked, confused, his eyes darting up to Kate before returning to Lorelai.

"We made it to the check point! 36 weeks! The buns are all baked... I think... they are, right? That's more than eight months? Well, nine months," she realized after doing the math.

"For the most part, yes," the woman confirmed. "And yes, you're techincally about nine months, but I won't get into that. A lot of people get confused with the nine months- ten months thing. Some months have more than four weeks, they don't know when to start counting from, some women don't know when they've reached full term, the list goes on. But depending on where you count from, it could go either way, nine or ten, but that's just doctor stuff," she said while shaking the thought away. "I like to count by weeks and the important thing is you were 36 weeks on the weekend and now just a few days away from being full term. Very impressive with twins, especially considering Rory," she complimented the couple. "They should be all set and ready to make their grand entrance."

"Good," Lorelai said before sighing in releif while letting her head fall to the pillow but before she could reach, a contraction came and with it pain, lots and lots of pain.

"This sucks, this sucks, this sucks," she chanted through breaths with her eyes closed and her hands squeezing Luke's, every one of the bones in his right hand probably on their way to being broken.

"Ready for the good stuff?" Kate asked a moment later, once things calmed down and Lorelai was okay. For the moment anyway. "Nothing like a good ole epidural to break up a Wednesday afternoon, huh?" she joked. That was always her style, trying to find the humor in things, lighten the mood whenever possible. She was a very relaxed, laid back person. She liked to go with the flow.

"The biggest dose you got," she requested.

_XXX_

The poor guy was sent away, though part of him was glad for the rule. He knew he'd probably pass out, having to watch a giant needle work it's way up his wife's back. But still, he wanted to be there to hold her, try and distract her from the pain. Be there for her, whisper words of encouragment, kiss her cheek- anything to help. But this was the part of the race he had to sit out and so Luke plopped down on a chair in the waiting room, making sure to seat himself in a place where he could still see Lorelai's room.

The father to be was just about to stand up, too ansty to sit when a familiar voice came rushing down the hall.

"Luke!" the girl shouted.

He looked up to find his step daughter hurrying across the floor.

"Hey, it's okay, slow down," he tried to tell her while standing up and swinging around a row of chairs.

She shook her head. "Slow down and they'll catch you," she repeated her mother's words of wisedom just before reaching Luke and immediately working to catch her breath the moment her feet stopped moving. "Oh, running and I don't get along," she said while putting her hands on her legs and bending forward, trying to get fresh air to her lungs.

"Doesn't get along with your mother either," the man threw in. "You both need to exercise more, eat a damn vegetable every now and then."

"And fill our stomachs with icky green stuff? That's a waste," she said with a shake of her head, banishing the thought away.

"Of course," Luke grumbled.

"Where is she?" Rory demanded.

Luke turned a bit to point down the hall before explaining, "she's getting an epidural right now, so we can't go in."

The young Gilmore nodded before asking, "but she's okay? I mean everything's going as planned? Nothing's wrong?"

Luke shook his head. "Nothing's wrong. Your mom's okay," he assured her.

"Good, good," Rory said while looking down at the keys in her hands and the thought just occurred to her. "I don't know where I parked my car," she said, her brows knit with confusion as she tried to remember. "I never forget where I park my car."

"Don't know where mine is either," Luke assured her.

"Yeah, well, playing 'find the giant green truck' will probably be easier then trying to find my tiny little prius in a sea of cars," she said before plopping down on a chair. "Trying to find a needle in a haystack... except the needle looks like the hay," Rory said with a thoughtful frown. "I don't know, but I do know it's out there somewhere unless it got stolen or aliens abducted it or something."

"I don't think aliens would come just to steal your car," Luke said while sitting down next to her.

"No, but they could spot it on their way to a corn field, get distracted by the lovely silver finish and magically levitate it up to their flying ship so they can take it back home and test how gas efficent it is on another planet, one with zero gravity. Maybe that effects the gas mileage," she reasoned with that one of a kind logic she learned from her mom.

Luke turned to look at her. "Anyone ever tell you you're your mother's daughter?"

Rory nodded. "Everyday."

"Then I won't bother."

"No, go ahead," Rory encouraged. "Heard it twice already today; if someone says it one more time, I'm gettin' me a bumper sticker," she said with a grin.

"Jeez," Luke grumbled while slumping back agianst his chair.

"And just think, there's two more coming," she said with a smile while patting his arm. "Two more soon to be coffee-addicted, T.V watching, fast talking, junk food attics who will love to torture their poor old dad with references he'll just never understand," Rory finished with an amused frown.

"Nope, your mom's not getting her way on that," he refused while shaking his head. "No coffee, no junk food and limited T.V," he said with a firm voice.

"What about the fast talking?" Rory asked with a smirk.

"I'm praying they won't pick that up," he muttered. "Half the time I can't catch a word you or your mom says."

"And you really think you'll win that battle? No junk food? Limited T.V? No coffee? Okay, limited T.V, _maybe_, but no coffee?" she questioned, stressing the idea. "You realize withholding coffee is like a sin to us, don't you? If God didn't want us to invent coffee, he wouldn't have made coffee beans," she said stubbornly. "That's my motto and I'm sticking to it."

"Just like your mom," he grumbled under his breath.

Rory smiled at the low words.

Father and step daughter didn't have to wait much longer until a nurse popped out and said the coast was clear. And so together they stood up and headed for the room.

"Mom!" Rory squaled like an excited five year old as she barrled through the room. "Are you okay?" she asked anxiously.

"I got drugs," Lorelai said while lying back agianst her pillow, a lazy, zen smile on her face.

"Oh, so you're more than okay," Rory said with a grin.

"She's probably landing on cloud nine right about now," Kate threw in while writing a few notes on the clip board. She then looked up and smiled at her patient's daughter. "Hey, Rory, it's good to see you again, honey. Been a couple of months," she said after putting the notes down and opening her arms for a hug.

"Yeah, it's nice to see you too," Rory agreed with a smile while patting the doctor's back. "Thanks for taking care of mom."

"Oh, I should thank you," Kate waved off. "I assume its you and Luke keeping her eating habbits somewhat healthy while she's with child- well, children," she corrected with a grin.

"Luke deserves most of the credit," Rory said while turning her head to smile at the man. "He's around everyday, keeping a close eye on her, using the baby card whenever possible."

"I can vouch for that," Lorelai said. "He's really big on the guilt thing," she grumped with narrowed eyes at the man in question.

"Good man," Kate said with a firm nod.

"Only way I can get her to eat something that isn't loaded with sugar and fat," Luke complained.

"So you pull out the 'b' word. You learn fast," she complimented him with a smile before reaching to pull on some gloves. "Alright, let's see how we're moving here," Kate said while moving to the foot of the bed and reaching to lift the blanket that covered Lorelai's legs.

"I'm gonna go wait for grandma," Rory said quickly while pointing her finger to the door.

Lorelai grinned at her daughter. "You know you could just stare at the floor for five seconds."

"What are you talking about?" Rory asked while backing to the door. "Grandma and grandpa should be here any minute and someone should be out there to tell them what room you're in," she explained. "And you know, since I'm already standing, I might as well do it," she offered with a shrug. "Kay, bye," Rory said before dashing for the hall.

"Rory's a chicken," Lorelai said through a smile.

"What about you?" Kate asked Luke. "You staying?"

The man shrugged. "I've seen it before."

"How I got into this mess," Lorelai murmured.

"Yeah, we all know what looking leads to," the woman said just before checking Lorelai's progress. "Still about 4 cm's," she deduced.

Lorelai's face fell. "That's it?"

"We've only been here a little while," Luke assured his wife while putting his hand on her covered thigh and rubbing back and forth.

"Don't worry, you're doing fine," Kate assured her patient.

Lorelai sighed while letting her head fall back to the pillow. She put her hand over her tummy, rubbing her rounded belly and receiving a few kicks in return, the moves making her smile. Wordlessly, she took Luke's hand and pressed it to the spot, watching his face and grining back at him when he smiled at her.

"Never gets old, huh?"

"Never," he agreed.

Meanwhile, out in the hall, after Rory stopped by a vending machine for some coffee, she wondered to the waiting room and sat down on a chair. She looked up every now and then, waiting to see her grandparents. When her eyes peaked up the forth or fifth time, she found Liz and T.J barreling down the hall.

"Hey, Liz. Hey, T.J," the young Gilmore said while getting to her feet to greet her family.

"Did we miss it?" T.J asked anxiously.

Rory shook her head. "No, mom didn't have the babies yet."

The man sighed a breath of relief. "Good, cause I'm gonna be an uncle, and that's a big responsibility. I mean there's a lot I can teach kids and that starts when the baby comes down the chute. Or in this case babies. And it's even bigger! I'm gonna be a uncle twice!" he exclaimed. "That's two times the learning that's gonna happen," he stressed while holding up two fingers. "And everyone knows babies start learning the second they're born, so I need to be right there, front row, when Lorelai has the twins," he explained.

Liz smiled while squeezing her husband's hand. "I think you're gonna have to sit this one out, baby," she said with a frown.

"What?! But I'm the uncle!"

"Hey, I'm the daughter and I'll be waiting right there," Rory said with a grin while pointing to a chair in the waiting area.

"See, we need to keep Rory company," she pointed out. "And hey, you're kind of Rory's uncle too, hon. She's Luke's step daughter," Liz reasoned with a shrug.

"Yeah, that's right!" the man realized with wide eyes. "I'm already an uncle! I'm gonna be an uncle three times!"

Liz laughed while looking to smile at Rory. "Can we visit your mom or did the pushing start?"

Rory shook her head. "I don't think she started. And her room's right down the hall, 112. Can you tell her I'll be out here waiting for everyone else?"

"Okay," Liz said while tugging at her husband's hand to lead the way. "Oh and Jess is just parking the car, he should be up in a sec. Can you point him to the room?"

"_Jess is here?!" _Rory mentally panicked, but on the outside, she kept her cool. "Yeah, sure."

"Great, thanks, Rory," Liz before they hurried to the room.

"Yeah, no problem," the Gilmore murmured with a frown.

Just as T.J was sharing words of encouragment with Lorelai, really feeding her ego by telling her she's the hottest pregnant woman he's ever seen- besides his wife, he added a second later- and with the biggest pregnant belly he's ever seen- that, he didn't include his wife in- and Liz was hugging her big bro, Jess was walking through the doors while a certain huntzberger was parking his mercedes in an empty spot.

"Hey," a low voice called and even though she was expecting him, her attention was absorbed in a book and the interuption scared her.

"Hey," she said while quickly regaining herself and standing up. "So you're here to see your cousins?" she asked, wanting to get right to the point.

Jess nodded. "Why else would I be here?" he said with eyes on her and a grin tugging at his lips.

"No reason I can think of," Rory said, her tone nervous while she looked away from his gaze. "So, um, they're all down the hall, room 112."

Jess nodded while slipping his hands into his pockets and casting a glance at the room. He then looked back at Rory who was desperately trying to avoid meeting his eyes. "Can we talk for a minute?" he asked.

Rory shook her head. "I have to stay here," she said while pointing the chair. "My grandparents are on their way and Sookie and Jackson should be here soon. I have to tell them where the room is."

Jess nodded his understanding, though he knew her reason for not wanting to talk had nothing to do with people needing directions, but had everything to do with what happened in Philly just a short time ago.

"Logan's on his way," she added, her voice low while her eyes stayed on the floor.

And that just confirmed his suspicions. "I'll let you get back to your sitting," he said before turning away and heading down the hall.

Once he was gone, Rory blew out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. And no sooner than she could catch it, another male voice called her attention.

"Hey, everything okay?" Logan asked anxiously while walking up to her.

Rory put on a smile. "Yeah, yeah, everything's fine."

"Your mom?"

"She's fine, more than fine. They just gave her an epidural so she's great."

"Good," Logan said with a smile. "Should I go say hi?" he questioned.

"No!" Rory exclaimed and Logan's brows knit in confusion. "I mean, there's a lot of people in there right now. Luke, Liz, T.J, the doctor, the nurse, my mom," she listed. "We can say hi later, after some people come out. Are you hungry?" she asked suddenly. "Maybe you should get some food. I could eat," she said while putting her hand to her belly."

Logan grinned. "You can always eat, Ace."

"Yes I can, and proud of it. So come on, let's hit the cafeteria," she said while grabbing his hand and leading him down the hall while mentally wondering why Jess was around today, of all days. If he was still in Philly, he wouldn't be here right now and she wouldn't have to play 'dodge the ex' for God knows how long.

While Rory was dragging her boy friend away to the cafeteria, Luke and Jess were engaging in a manly hug.

"I didn't know you were coming," Luke said once they pulled away, surprise on his face. "Why didn't you tell me he was around?" he asked Liz.

"I just got here this morning. I was going to Hartford on business-"

"On business," Luke snickered with a grin. "Never thought I'd hear you say that."

Jess rolled his eyes. "Liz called me while I was there, so I thought I'd drop by, be here to see the look on your face when your kids come. I'm betting on scared shitless, but I could be wrong," he said while shrugging with a grin planted on his face.

"Can I get in on that?" Lorelai asked. "But I'd go for more than scared shitless; how bout, scared shitless and pees in his pants? I'd put a million on that one."

Luke sighed.

XXX

Soon enough, the room was filled to near capacity. Sookie and Jackson arrived just after Liz and T.J, both adults squeezing themselves into the room when Rory caught a break. See, Logan got a call from his father, he was needed right away to meet up with some of his dad's clients or something. Rory wasn't too sure, but she knew it was all prep for what would happen next month when he would graduate college and be sent off to London for at least a year. It was a subject the Gilmore wasn't all too trilled about but today she was greatful for the situation. Logan was leaving the hospital, for the time being anyway, and so while sighing a breath of relief, she turned back to head for the room while Logan left the hospital. For the time being, she wouldn't have to try and keep Logan away from Jess. Frankly, her boyfriend didn't like Jess- that went both ways- and she felt too guilty about what happen in Philly.

"Rory!" her grandmother called just after she turned a corner.

The Gilmore back tracked and smiled at seeing her grandparents. "Hey, I thought you guys were here already."

"Oh no, tell me she didn't have the babies ," Emily panicked.

Rory shook her head. "Not yet. I would have gotten a call," she said while holding up her cell.

"Oh, thank God," she said before turning to glare at her husband. "You would have been sleeping on the couch for a month if we missed those babies being born. It's your fault it took us so long to get here. You and your damn client. The meeting couldn't wait until tomorrow?"

Richard rolled his eyes. "It isn't as if we're going to be in the room when she has them."

"So?" the woman challanged. "It would be nice to be in the same buildling as my daughter while she gives birth, Richard."

"Oh, Emily, I was just finishing up the meeting when you came running through the house complaining about your hair turning green," he pointed out. "I was ready while you were still washing your hair. If we would have been elsewhere while Lorelai was having the twins, it would have been at your hands, my dear," he said with a smile.

The Gilmore didn't answer, instead she turned to her grandaughter and asked, "where's your mother?"

"Down the hall, room 112," she said.

"Thank you," Emily said, her voice prim before she turned on her heel and hurried off.

Richard sighed before following after his wife. And with a grin, Rory was right behind them.

When the trio walked into the room they found people crammed in every corner and Luke leaning over the bed. Emily peered around the man and frowned at her daughter who seemed to be in pain. Her hands were braced on the bed, on either side of her body, and she was looking down at the mattress.

"I'm okay, I'm okay," Lorelai managed as the pain eased up. It wasn't too bad, nothing like before the epidural but she just felt that one a bit more than the ones that passed.

"I'm sorry," Luke apologized, hating it more than anything when she was hurting. He then kissed her forehead and took a seat next to her, keeping her hand in his.

"Lorelai?" Emily questioned.

The Danes looked up and managed a small smile while easing her body back agianst the pillow. "Hey, mom."

"Are you alright?" the woman asked, concerned. "Did they give you anything?"

"Yeah, an epidural, but I just had a contraction. It wasn't too bad though, nothing like before."

"Good," Emily said with a nod.

"Hey, dad."

"Hello, Lorelai," the man said with a smile.

"Excuse me, but I'm gonna have to ask that some of you leave. It's getting too crowded in here," a nurse said while popping her head in the room.

"We'll go wait outside, sweetie, keep the town updated. Patty's waiting for my call," Sookie said while grabbing Jackson's hand and weaving through the people. "Good luck!" the chef squealed before going.

"Thanks, Sook."

"Come on, baby, we should go too, see what Jess is up to. I think he mentioned getting some food. You hungry?"

"Why not?" the man said with a shrug. "They probably got jello, right?"

"They have jello," Lorelai confirmed with a small, tired smile.

"Well, then what are we waiting for, let's go!" the man boosted.

"Keep us updated big bro," Liz warned before leaving with her husband. "See ya later, sis," she said while grinning at Lorelai.

After those four left, Rory quickly grabbed a seat next to Luke while Richard and Emily looked around, the two not sure what to do. Lorelai turned to Rory, her brows furrowed and the girl just shrugged in return.

"I'll guess we'll sit in the waiting room," Emily said a moment later. "I have some things to cancel anyway, and Richard, you have a conference soon, didn't you?"

"What? Oh, yes," the man said with a nod, realizing the phone meeting that was set up for today.

"I assume we'll hear when she has the babies?" Emily asked Luke.

"Yes, of course," the man said with a nod.

"Alright then, we'll be outside," Emily said before turning to the door.

"Or you can sit there," Lorelai said before they could go, her hand poitning to a pair of chairs across the room. "I mean, you can make your calls here if you want, I don't mind,"she assured them. "I don't think I'm gonna be pushing any time soon so if you wanted to hang around, you can," she said with a shrug. "Or, you know, out there is okay too, but if you wanted to... I mean we could-"

"Yeah, you just got here, you should stay for a while," Rory threw in.

"Are you sure?" Emily asked.

"Don't be silly grandma," the girl said while standing up to move the chairs closer.

"Well, alright, we can stay for a little while," the Gilmore said while moving to the chair.

Richard smiled. "I'll go make our calls, Emily, and be right back."

"Thank you, Richard."

A moment of silence passed, an uncomfrotable silence but then Emily did something that shocked them all. She broke the ice.

"Did I ever tell you what your father did when you were born?" she asked.

Lorelai turned to her mother, her face confused while she shook her head.

"Didn't he make that investment?" Rory asked.

"Well, yes, but I didn't know about that," Emily said, her voice stiff. "I'm talking about when he first saw you, this little tiny thing wrapped up in a pink blanket and you know what he did? The man cried," she said with a smile as the memory filled her mind. "I was holding you when he first came in because of course it wasn't something that men did then, being in the room while a woman gave birth, and when he looked down at you and saw you were sound asleep, tears suddenly came out of nowhere. The man was balling for minutes," she said with a grin. "I asked him if he wanted to hold you, but he said no. He was afraid of dropping you. He thought you were perfect and fragile, and he didn't want to hurt you. He said you looked safe and happy just where you were," Emily said, drops of salty water glossing her eyes with every word.

Lorelai gave a teary smile while reaching for Luke's hand, her eyes on Emily. "Thanks, mom," she whispered, barely loud enough for anyone to hear.

The woman nodded while trying to compose herself. "You're welcome, Lorelai."

"So, what happened when you got home?" Rory asked.

"What?"

"When you took mom home? I mean you were young, right? In your early 20's? That had to be scary, bringing a baby home."

"Terrifying," Lorelai said, thinking back to her own experience.

Emily smiled. "Well, of course it was, and let me tell you, I think your mother was putting on a show for the nurses because the first night she barely slept at all. And of course Richard was out cold from having worked all day- the man never stopped working, not for one day- so I was up all night with you," she said while looking at Lorelai. "You just wouldn't sleep. Finally, I was so tired so I just took you in bed with me. I layed you down between your father and I and for almost an hour you just lied there looking around at everything. And at one point, when I looked down at you, you were suddenly asleep. I guess you just didn't like being in your room alone."

"It was that crib, the bars made me feel like I was in baby jail," Lorelai said with a grin.

Emily smiled. "Night after night you just wanted to sleep with your father and I. On the third night, I didn't even try to put you in your room; I just rocked you to sleep, then put you down in our bed. When I finally got around to hiring a nanny I was ready to go back to the DAR and the club and things like that. By the end of the day I was just too tired to rock you myself," she explained, regret in her tone.

"But we had a nanny and she was paid to take care of you so she did. She got you on a routine and had you sleeping in your own crib in no time. It was the right thing to do," she said, trying to mask the sadness in her tone, but failing.

Lorelai opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, her mom beat her there.

"Anyway, that was a long time ago. How are things going with school, Rory?" she asked, needing to change the subject.

Lorelai sighed. Luke kissed her temple.

XXX

After almost two hours went by since the elder Gilmore's arrived and minimal progress had been made, Kate was letting Lorelai know she could be in for a long labor process. Hours passed since they first arrived at the hospital and she hadn't reached 6 cm's yet. And Kate was honest, she let her patient know this concerend her. It was nothing dire of course, not the kind of concern an emergenry causes, but a concern for her patient that this could be a hard, exhausting delivery. Though there was a drug that could be given that could help speed things up, and Kate let them know that could be an option soon. And of course, there was the C-section route. But Luke was firm agianst that. A friend of his sister's died while going through a c-section and he's just heard too many horror stories on the news and in the papers. He didn't want his wife to go through surgery.

Lorelai gave her husband's hand a reassuring squeeze when Kate brought up the subject. She didn't want to go through surgery either.

"I understand that you'd rather not go that way," the doctor said, "but with twins, there's always a higher risk. Getting two out the old fashioned way isn't as easy as getting one out. I mean, right now, everything seems to look okay. The babies are lying the right way and the heartbeats are fine. I'm not worried about that now, but you need to be prepared that if an emergeny situation should arise, we may have to do a c-section.

"I know," Lorelai said with a nod before turning to give Luke a smile. "but hopefully it won't come to that."

"I don't think it will," the doctor said with a smile. "I just want you to be prepared."

"Thanks, Kate," Lorelai said.

The woman nodded while checking up on the montiors for any changes in the heartrates and when she saw there weren't any, she then told Luke that it was time to move again and he helped his wife go from her back to lying on her side. They were told that because of having the epidural, lying in one positoin for too long may stop labor and since it already seemed to be slowing it down, Lorelai was switching sides regularly.

"I'll be right back," Kate assured them before excusing herself from the room.

Lorelai sighed while finding Luke's eyes. They were alone. Everyone else was wondering around the hospital, some probably getting food, some waiting in the waiting room and some maybe even gift shoping, but whatever they were doing, Lorelai was glad for the quiet time.

"Babe?" Lorelai whispered as Luke seemed to be lost in thought, his mind somewhere else.

"What?" he asked, his eyes darting to her.

"You okay?"

"I should be asking you that."

Lorelai smiled. "I asked you first."

"I'm fine, just thinking," he brushed off.

"About what?"

"You," he said, his voice gruff.

Her smiled widened. "What about me?"

The man sighed while taking a minute to let the memory of that day fill his mind again before he said, "when you told me you were pregnant."

"Good day," Lorelai said with a nod while swaying her hand over her belly.

"Yeah," Luke agreed while looking down to watch as she rubbed her hand over their babies. "You were happy. You weren't in pain," he murmured after ducking his eyes to his lap.

"Aw, babe, you have no idea how happy I am right now," Lorelai said before squeezing his hand. "And the pain, hardly any. The epidural was a god sent," she said with a grin.

Luke looked up to smile at her. "I'm still waiting for you to pull out the swear words."

"Oh, just wait till the pushing starts," she said with a grin.

The man sighed while leaning back agianst his chair, but keeping Lorelai's hand securely in his. He looked down at the needle that was pierced through her skin, unable to stop his gaze from going there and suddenly the image of her cold, lifeless body lying on an operating table filled his mind; he couldn't stop the image from coming. But as quickly as he saw it was as fast as it was gone and when it disappeared he looked back to her face and said, "if anything happens to you..." he trailed, not able to finish the words as his eyes strayed.

"Luke, look at me," she requested, her voice soft.

He took his eyes away from the lamp next to her bed and found her blue orbs staring back at him.

"Nothing is going to happen to me," she said firmly. "I'm gonna have our babies and we're all gonna be fine, healthy, and happy. You'll see," she said with a smile.

Luke took an unsteady breath while leaning forward to kiss her check. "You better be."

"You worry too much," she whispered, a smile on her face.

"One of us has to."

"And you do it enough for the both of us."

XXX

A hour half ticked by and while Lorelai was receiving some pitocin to help get things going, Rory was planted in front of a vending machine, trying to decide between chocolate chip cookies or oreos.

"Lot to pick from," Jess said while approaching her.

Rory nodded in agreement.

"So I thought money bags would be here by now," he said with a grin.

Rory turned to glare at him. "He was here, but he had to leave.

Jess nodded. "You think we can talk now?" he asked.

Rory took a breath while turning to face him. "Talk about what?"

"You know what."

"No, but what I do know is that my mother is down the hall, in labor, and my boyfriend could be back any time now," she said pointedly.

"And what I know is you kissed me back," he said, refusing to let the subject be dropped. "I know that asshole cheated on you but you went back with him. I know you quit school while you were with him. I know you stole a yacht-"

"How'd you know about that?" she demanded.

"It doesn't matter. Why the hell are you still with him, Rory?" he asked, his tone rising.

"Why do you care?" Rory challenged.

"You know why I care. Stop dancing circles around the questions," he demanded, losing patience.

"It happened a month ago, Jess; if you cared you could have done something, you could have called, you could have came... you didn't come... you tell me you love me, then bolt, then come back wanting me to run away with you. Who does that?" she asked, trying to make sense of everything. "I can't kept playing games with you, Jess. I'm with Logan," she said firmly. "What happened at the book store shouldn't have happened. I'm sorry,"she apologized before turning on her heel and leaving.

XXX

60 minutes or so went and finally, progress was being made.

"About 8 cm's," Kate said with a smile after checking Lorelai.

"We need to get to 10, right?" Luke asked, wanting to be sure.

"Yes," the doctor confirmed. "And we're almost there. Seems the pitocin did the trick."

"Thank God," Lorelai mumbled while working an ice chip in her mouth. It was the only thing she could eat.

"Let's see how the mini Danes are holding up," Kate said with a grin while checking up on the fetal monitor. She saw that both heartbeats were a bit high, but nothing to cause concern. It was actually a good thing, mean't the babies were moving which mean't they were getting enough oxygen.

So all in all, things were going pretty well. It may be taking a while, but at least everyone seemed healthy and thats what Kate cared about the most.

"Feel 'em squirming around in there?" the doctor asked with a grin.

Lorelai nodded while rubbing circles over her belly. "Starting to feel Mr. Pain again too."

"Felt the last contraction?" Kate asked with a frown while looking down at her watch and realizing the epidural may be starting to ware off a bit.

"And the one before that. They weren't too bad, though but I did feel them coming."

"Can she take more medicine?" Luke asked.

Kate nodded. "I can give her more, but I think this is a good thing if you can hold out. You're getting close to push time and it would help if you could feel the contractions coming. You'll be able to control the pushing better if you can feel that you're having a contraction, "she explained. " I don't want you to get stuck before the finish line. I'd hate for you to need a c-section or something along those lines when you're so close," she warned.

"I'm okay," Lorelai said. "I don't need more," she added, deteremined to avoid surgery and anything else.

"Good," the woman said with a smile. "But if it gets too bad, I can give you more."

Lorelai nodded. "Thanks," she murmured, her body tired from the long day and her voice showing it.

"You should try and rest again. You've got a little while until we start pushing."

"Mhm," Lorelai mumbled sleepily, her eyes falling closed.

"I'll tell everyone how we're doing," Kate said, her voice low as she left the room.

Luke nodded back, giving the woman a smile before focusing his attention back on Lorelai. She was lying on her side, facing him, one arm lying across the bed in front of her and her other hand on her belly. She wasn't sleeping of course, her thumb swaying back and forth across her belly and it being late in the game with pain becoming more aware to Lorelai with every new contraction, but Luke was glad she seemed relaxed, if even for a moment. The doctor said any minute she could steal away would help keep her energy stacked, and that was important.

With a smile on his face, Luke leaned forward to kiss her cheek, mumbling the words, "almost there," over her skin. Her lips curled to a small smile and she asked, "love me?" with closed eyes.

"Always," Luke said, his voice low.

"Me too."

Luke smiled further before dropping a kiss to her forehead, then leaning back to keep watchful eyes on his wife.

Meanwhile, out in the waiting room, Kirk had just arrived for the big story. He had recently gotten a job for the Stars Hollow Gazette. The only thing left was the 'New Parents' section and so here he was to cover the big story. Luke and Lorelai having twins- it's been of major interest to the town ever since the day word spread that Lorelai was pregnant.

"And approximently how many ice chips do you think Lorelai has consumed?" Kirk asked T.J with his little notepad out and a pencil poised in the air.

"I don't know," T.J said with a shrug. "I'd say at least 48, but that's just a rough estimate," the man warned, his tone completely serious. "You'd have to ask Luke if you want a solid number."

Kirk nodded while taking the number down and turning to Rory. "And you, Miss Gilmore, how many times do you think a nurse has been in and out of Lorelai's room?"

"Um, Kirk, don't you think you should be asking different kinds of questions?"

"Like what?" the man asked, his face blank.

"Like, you know, when she got to the hospital, how long she's been here, if there's been any complications... things like that."

Kirk took a moment to think about Rory's sugggestions, really letting them soak in. He mentally compared them to his own questions and a moment later came to a decision.

"No, I think this is what the people want to know," he said while tapping his pad. "Now back to the question. How many times do you think a nurse has been in and out of Lorelai's room?"

Rory just shook her head while letting her forehead fall to her palm.

XXX

Not an hour later and finally it was time. The pushing had commenced and Lorelai was swearing like a sailor while Luke was wishing he had a cup on, anything to guard his manhood from the constant threats being thrown at him. All was as it should be.

"I can't," Lorelai panted between breaths as her head fell back to the pillow.

"Yes you can," Luke encouraged.

"Shut up," she snapped.

"Come on, Lorelai, one more good push and we'll get a baby," Kate said, trying to keep her patient going.

Lorelai groaned while putting her hands over her face and just as she covered her eyes she felt a contraction coming.

"Come on, push, push, I can see a little head," Kate said while patting Lorelai's leg.

And despite the pain and exhaustion, Lorelai took a breath and pushed as hard as she could. She gave it everything she and had and low and behold out came baby number one.

"Oh my God," Lorelai awed, her eyes on the tiny little baby as Luke mindlessly cut the cord, then the nurse quickly worked to clear the mouth and nose while cleaning off the skin.

"Oh my God," Luke panicked, his stare fixed on his newborn baby as the nurse held it up for them to see.

"This one's a boy," the woman said with a smile as cries filled the room.

"Liam," Lorelai murmured/ They had the names picked out for months now.

"Cute name," Kate said with a smile.

"After Luke's dad," Lorelai explained, though her attention was focused mostly on the baby as he traveled across the room in a nurse's arms and was soon placed down to be exaimed. With her gaze still ahead of her, she reached for her husband's hand and squeezed, letting him know she could do this. She could have their babies. Just one more to go.

But unfortunately, it didn't happen on the next contraction. Or the one after that. But the third time's the charm. 12 minutes later and out came baby number two.

"Girl," Luke said before the nurse could. They knew the sex of the babies for a while and he was just in complete aw.

"That's right," Kate said with a smile. "What's this one's name?"

"Bella," he answered.

"Short for Isabella," Lorelai explained.

"After my mom," Luke said.

"Her name was Elizabeth," Lorelai finished.

"You named them after your parents. That's sweet," Kate said.

"We thought since they won't have their grandparents here that they should at least have a piece of them, be a part of them."

"I'd bet they'd like that," Kate said with a nod and a happy smile

Lorelai squeezed Luke's hand in excitement, both adults watching as their babies were busy getting weighed and everything.

"This little boy is 5lbs, 8oz," the nurse said while walking over with a bundled up baby boy. "Who wants to hold him?"

"Me! Me!" Lorelai insisted while holding her arms out.

Carefully, the nurse transferred the boy to his mother's arm and Lorelai craddled the newborn to her chest, folding back the blanket so the new parents could get a look at his little face.

"Looks like you," Lorelai murmrued while brushing her finger over his little cheek.

"Your dark hair," Luke pointed out while reaching a tentative finger to his other cheek and Lorelai smiled in encouragement, watching with teary eyes as father and son shared a moment.

"And this little girl is 5lbs on the dot."

"Just made the cut," Kate joked. "Give her to daddy, he doesnt' have one yet," she said with a smile.

"Oh, no, I can't," Luke said while leaning back in his seat.

"Yes you can, babe,;I'm right here," Lorelai assured her husband while giving him a smile. "You won't hurt her," she added in a whisper.

The man took a breath while opening his arms like Lorelai did and concentrating to keep them steady while the nurse lowered the baby to his arms.

"Remember to support her head and keep her close. Babies like to be near the body, feel the warmth, feel the heartbeat," the nurse instructed.

Luke nodded, having remembered reading something about that in a pregnancy book a while back. He tried to do as much research as possible before the big day. He wanted to be prepared.

"You can jiggle her a little; most babies like some movement," the nurse added.

"Like this?" he asked while bouncing his arms up and down a bit, but being careful not to go fast.

"Just like that," the woman complimented with a smile.

"Look at you," Lorelai whispered, her eyes watching as Luke's focus was down on their baby girl. Not even five minutes old and already he seemed to be wrapped around her little finger.

"Blue eyes," Luke said a moment later.

"Hm?" Lorelai asked while looking away from their sleeping boy and to Luke.

"She has blue eyes," he said, his gaze fixed on Bella. "Just like you."

Lorelai leaned up to kiss his check before saying, "we did it."

"Yeah, we did," he agreed. "Thank you."

"My pleasure," Lorelai said with the biggest smile while looking down at the boy in her arms.

_To be continued_

**The research I did on this baby, oy. Every two seconds typing in a question about epidurals and heart-rates and birth- weights and all that fun stuff. I just hope I got some of it right, lol. **

**Anyawy, hope the new update was enjoyed!! I'd love to hear your thoughts on the chapter before you go!!! Thank you!!**


	3. The One With The Crude Lactating

**Author's Note-**

_A big thank you to, c**hloe2007, suusje32, calleighsthebest, Loridhp, coffeebeanner, chels, Jeremy Shane, Copop, javajunkie86, **and **gilmoreluver06, **for the awesome reviews!!!! Your comments keep me writing!!!! _

_I hope you all enjoy chapter three, :D. _

**Everyday: The One With The Crude Lactating**

**Chapter Three:**

_Hospital_

"You realize this is my shirt," Luke said while holding up a blue flannel from Lorelai's suitcase.

Lorelai shook her head. "Mine. Gimme," she demanded while holding her arms out.

"Well it was mine," he grumbled while carrying the shirt to her bed.

"Finders keepers, babe."

"Apparently," Luke grumbled as he put the shirt down on the bed. He then wrapped his arm around Lorelai's back to help her sit up. Once she managed to swing her legs over the edge of the bed, she sighed while reaching around to undo the ties of her hospital gown .

"Hate these things," she complained while loosening the first one. "Why I can't give birth in that," Lorelai started while nudging her chin at the flannel, "I'll never know."

Luke just shrugged while Lorelai's hand traveled down her back, her finger's undoing each tie as she went. When she finished, she pulled the gown away from her body and tossed it on the bed behind her.

"Sorry; if I wasn't so tired, I wouldn't have just stripped in front of you," Lorelai apologized while grabbing her husband's old shirt and pushing her arms through the sleeves.

Luke frowned. "You think you had someone else's babies? I've seen it all before."

"Yeah, well, that was before I had this going on," she said while circling her hands around her belly. "I mean, okay, I guess it was hot and all when there were babies in there, but they're out now and it's all just... ick," she explained with a frown while looking down at her tummy. "And I'm not sixteen anymore; I'm not gonna bounce back as quickly as I did last time. I may not even bounce all the way back. There may be some leftover chub that I can't get rid of and if I hadn't just squeezed two babies out, I would care more about that, but I'm just too tired," Lorelai complained through a sigh while lying back agianst the pillows.

Luke shook his head while sitting down next to her. "Lorelai, you know I don't care about that."

"You say that now," she said through closed eyes. "but what happens when my boobs get smaller. They're not gonna stay this way forever," she warned.

"They'll go back to normal," Luke said with a shrug.

"Or they'll get all saggy and wrinkly. It didn't happen after Rory, but I'm older now. You never know," she said as her eyes popped open. "I could wind up fat and old with saggy breasts. They'll be like balloons with tiny holes in them; they'll just keep getting smaller and smaller, deflating little by little until there's nothing left."

"Then I'll get drunk, pull out all my hair and gain 200 hundred pounds," Luke said with a shrug.

Lorelai's eyes widened as a smile took her face. "You would do that for me?"

Luke nodded while putting his hand over her covered tummy and rubbing his thumb back and forth. "You and me, we're doing this together. Your body goes to hell, mine goes too," he said with a smirk.

"Hug," Lorelai requested while holding her arms out.

Luke smiled while leaning close and leaving kisses around her cheek and across her jaw. A small, content sigh escaped Lorelai's lips while her eyes fell closed and her arms tightened around his neck.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"You're welcome," Luke returned before leaning back to find her eyes.

"Mrs. Danes?" a nurse called while knocking on the door.

"Come in," Lorelai called with a tired, lazy smile as Luke pulled away from her.

After getting the okay, two nurses walked in, one wheeling each baby.

"Everything seems to be good. They passed all their tests," one of the nurses said with a smile as the babies where wheeled to the far side of the bed. "You're still planning on breastfeeding, right?"

Lorelai nodded. "Yes."

"Okay, good. A doctor will be here soon to help get you started," the nurse assured her.

"Thank you," Lorelai said while leaning up to peak at her babies. She couldn't help but smile at the site of Liam sleeping and Bella just lying there peacefully. "Hi, sweet girl," she murmured while reaching to brush her finger over her baby's small, soft cheek.

The nurse couldn't help but smile at the scene. "I'll leave you alone. Just give a call when you need a break."

"We will. Thank you," Luke said before the woman left.

Once they were alone, Lorelai kicked off the covers and scooted to the edge of the bed. She moved carefully and slowly, then sat with her legs hanging over the bed while focusing her attention on the twins. She put her hand over Liam's belly, her heart warming at the feel of his small tummy rising and falling with every tiny breath he took. And while she kept her right hand on her baby boy, with her left she found Bella's little hand and nudged her finger through the baby's loose fist. On reflex, Bella wrapped her hand around Lorelai's index finger, causing her mommy's smile to fill with pride.

"I'm so happy," Lorelai whispered, not realizing at first that she said the words aloud.

"Good," Luke said with a smile while leaning over the bed to kiss her forehead. "You ready to see everyone?" Luke asked.

Lorelai nodded while keeping her eyes on her babies. And with that, Luke promised to be right back before heading to the waiting room.

XXX

They got the news just a short time ago. Luke came running out to tell them that Lorelai had the twins and everyone was healthy and okay. There were no complications, much to everyone's releif. And while they were happy to hear the news, they weren't too thrilled about having to wait again. But thankfully, it wasn't much longer until Rory spotted Luke again.

"Can we see them?" the Gilmore asked eagerly while standing up from her chair.

Luke nodded at his stepdaughter and said, "okay, maybe we should do this two at time so-" but that particular thought ended there as after getting the 'okay' everyone shot up from their seats and hurried down the hall. "Or you can all run in there like a bunch'a lunatics," he grumbled.

Jess smirked from his seat. He was the only one left. "I coulda told you that would happen."

Luke sighed while walking to the emtpy chair next to his nephew and plopping down.

"How are they?"

"The twins?"

"No, the nurses. See any hot ones?" he asked with a grin.

"Wise ass," Luke muttered.

"Well, who'd you think I mean't?"

"They're great," Luke said with a nod as the picture of Lorelai sitting over their babies popped into his head. "They're healthy, the tests went fine and they weren't crying when I left."

"I wouldn't get used to that. I hear babies wail a lot."

Luke shrugged while leaning back agianst the chair. "Usually just means they're hungry or need a diaper change or something. After they get that, they usually stop. Unless they just want to be held," he added.

Jess's brows furrowed. "Did you study for this?" he asked with an amused smile.

Luke nodded. "I had to do something. I had no idea what to do with a baby. And I still don't know much, so a lotta good that did me," he complained in a grumble.

"So these'll be the guinea pigs and if you screw them up, you just have a new round and get it right next time," Jess reasoned simply.

Luke turned to glare at him. Jess couldn't help but smirk.

Meanwhile, back at room 112, while Luke and Jess were having a heart to heart, what seemed like twenty people suddenly came barreling through the room.

"You did it!" Rory squealed while darting for the bed and wrapping her arms around her mom.

Lorelai smiled while squeezing her big girl. "I love you," she whispered over Rory's shoulder.

"I love you too, mom," the young Gilmore said with a smile while pulling away, but the smile turned to a quick frown when she found tears welling up in Lorelai's eyes.

"Mom?"

"Sorry, sorry," Lorleai apologized while wiping away the tears. "Hormones still a little outta whack."

Rory nodded while pulling the blanket over to cover her mom's bare legs.

"Look at them!" Sookie gushed after working through the crowd to find two snoozy newborns all bundled up in their blankets.

"Make room, please. I'm with the Stars Hollow Gazette, here on offical newspaper business," Kirk said with the best professional voice he could muster up while he zig-zagged between people with a camera hanging from his neck and a pad and paper in his hand. "I'll need a picture for the cover."

"Yay! You made the front page!" Lorelai cheered while looking down at the twins.

"Lorelai! You mind parting the red sea!" Kate called from the doorway.

"Guys, make a hole," she told everyone, and quickly the crowd filed into two lines, creating a path in the middle.

"And I hate to do this, but I'm gonna have to kick at least half of you outta here," Kate said with a frown while walking through the room, the lactationist right behind her. "Time to get the plumbing going; gotta make sure all the pipes are working," she said with a grin.

"So you're gonna-"

"Yup."

And with that confirmation, Rory quickly scooted off the bed and darted from the room.

"Taking one for the team! Thanks sweets!" Lorelai called with a grin.

"Anyone else want a front row for the lactating?" Kate asked while gesturing to an empty chair near the bed.

"I'll stay," T.J said with a shrug while sitting down.

"Up. Now," Liz demanded.

"Okay, okay; I was just kidding," the man said while throwing his hands up and following his wife from the room.

"We can come back when she's done?" Sookie asked.

Kate nodded.

"And I assume you don't wanna watch me lactate?" Lorelai asked her parents with a grin.

Emily rolled her eyes. "Must you be so crude, Lorelai?"

"I'm not being crude. Lactate is the techincal term, right? If I wanted to be crude, I woulda said-"

"Lorelai," Richard warned.

"Party poopers," she murmured with a frown.

"Well, we'll see you tomorrow. It's getting late and I'm sure you could use your rest."

Lorelai nodded in agreement while saying, "Squeezing two kids out without the advantage of super human powers takes a lot outta ya. Who knew," through a sigh.

Emily resisted the urge to sigh herself while instead turning towards the door to leave. "Goodbye, Lorelai."

"Bye, mom. Night, dad."

"Goodnight, Lorelai," Richard said while pausing in the doorway. "And, um," he started while looking to the hall. "Emily, I just have to make a quick call. I'll meet you outside."

"Alright," the Gilmore called while keeping pace.

Richard turned back to his daughter, walking towards her bed while pulling two envelopes from his pocket. "These are for my grandchildren."

Lorelai rolled her eyes while she took the envelopes. "Already trying to buy off their affections?" she asked with a grin while opening the first one. She quickly discovered there was a check sitting inside and after pulling the flimsy paper free, her jaw dropped at the dollar amount listed. "Two thousand dollars," she stated, her voice shocked.

"Well, four thousand all together; two thousand for each of them," he said with a big smile.

"Dad, no, I can't take this."

"You're not; they are," he reasoned.

"Dad-"

"Lorelai, your mother bought you your wedding dress and while I know I signed the check, it was really something she gave you. Now one day, your children may want to go to college. In fact, I hope they do. The money I'm giving them is for a college fund. Of course, you can use it however you chose, but I think saving for their future is rather wise. Don't you?" he asked.

"Well, yes, but a twenty spot woulda been fine. We don't need all this. Luke and I can take care of things," Lorelai argued while trying to give him the envelopes.

"I know you can, Lorelai, but I want to help. And don't worry, you owe me nothing in return. This is purely a gift. An investment, really. I'm investing in my grandchildrens' future. I just want to help them achieve whatever goals they may have. I want to be a part of it. That is, if you'll let me."

Lorelai looked back at the checks, knowing she couldn't say no. This was her parents way of taking care of people. They use their money to supply the best of the best. It's the only way they know how to show their affection towards a person. That's what Lorelai's come to learn. While she was growing up, her parents hired the best nannies and enrolled her in the top schools. That was their way of trying to ensure her bright future, of trying to be good parents. And right now, her dad was just trying to be a good grandparent by doing the only thing he knew how. She couldn't say no.

"Thanks, daddy," Lorelai whispered while trying to figure out a way to get Luke to agree to this. It wouldn't be easy, she knew that. Like herself, the man liked to work for his money, liked to earn things.

Richard nodded while leaning close, then leaving a kiss on his daughter's forehead. "We'll see you tomorrow," he promised before turning for the door.

Lorelai was too in shock, stuck in a daze to say anything in return. She couldn't remember the last time her father kissed her forehead. Probably when she was a little girl. Most likely before that.

"Lorelai? You ready?" Kate asked.

Lorelai blinked away from her thoughts and gave a nod to the doctor.

"Okay, then Sarah here will show you the ropes. Although, it's kinda like riding a bike and since you did it with Rory, you should catch on pretty quickly. This kinda thing doesn't change much with time," she said with a smile.

Lorelai nodded. "Thanks, Kate."

The woman gave a 'your welcome' smile before turning to the door. "You want me to find that hubby of yours? Get him back in here."

Lorelai grinned and said, "oh yeah, he'll wanna see this; I married me a boob man... well, no, he likes the legs too... and he likes my butt, that I know for a fact... let's just say he's highly fond of the female anatomy."

XXX

"I can't believe he's still sleeping," Luke awed with a frown while looking down at the snoozy baby who was lying on his chest.

"And this one's having a ball wearing mommy's boob out," Lorelai cooed while looking down at Bella, whose lips were clamped around her nipple. The proud mom of three reached to cup her baby's fragile head, brushing her fingers through Bella's soft, light hair.

Luke looked to his right, watching for a moment as his little girl drank peacefully, her eyes closed and her hand lying over Lorelai's breast. "You think she's getting enough?" the new dad asked worriedly.

Lorelai nodded. "Enough for now, I think, but milk should be flowing like a river in a couple of days or so. And she'll probably do more sleeping than eating for a while anyway," she said with a shrug.

"Does it hurt?" he asked with a wince.

"Yeah, but it should get better. If I'm doing it right anyway. I think I am," she said with a thoughtful frown whlie looking back at Bella.

"If it hurts you, I don't want you doing it," Luke said, not liking the idea. "I mean there's always formula, right?"

Lorelai smiled at her hubby's concern. "Babe, it's okay. I want to do this. I mean I liked it with Rory. You know, having that closeness, having her depend on me for that. I guess she depended on me for eeverything then, but this was something no one else could do. Made it special," she explained her gaze floating back to her baby.

Luke nodded in understanding. "But don't worry, I'll pump so you can feed them too. It isn't so special if I've got them clamped to my boobs 24/7. Then this'll get old real fast," she said with a grin.

"Good," Luke said while looking to check on the time. He found it was late. "Are you tired? You never got to sleep."

"Yeah, but I'll sleep when she's done. Then if lazy bones over there wakes up, he'll get a turn too."

Luke looked back at Liam and couldn't help but say, "he looks like my dad."

"Yeah?" Lorelai asked with a growing smile while meeting his eyes.

"I'll show you a baby picture of him. He just had lighter hair," Luke explained while looking at his son's darker hair. Lorelai's dark hair.

"So the name fits?"

"Yeah," Luke agreed through a sigh, "the name fits."

Later on that night, when most of the world was sleeping, Luke was standing in front of a big glass window, his eyes firm on his babies. Both were sound asleep, just like their mom was and while the man knew he too should be getting some rest- he would need his energy for tomorrow- he just couldn't pry himself away from that window. He couldn't stop fearing for the future, hoping the name doesn't fit. Silent prayers came from his mind, the quiet words asking God to please, save his son from suffering the same fate that his father did.

He couldn't stop thinking about his newborn daughter. Not a day old and already he saw so much of Lorelai in her. But he did notice a touch of him, the little girl having his lighter hair, though according to Lorelai, she had his ears too, but aside from that, he saw all Lorelai. A tiny, little perfect Lorelai. When her blue eyes first peeped open at him, he knew. Bella had him right then and there, and he wouldn't change that for anything.

Thoughts, all different kinds ran back and forth through Luke's mind until finally the vibrating cell phone in his pocket snapped the new daddy from his daze. He pulled the device from his jeans, looked down and found a message waiting for him, the name Lorelai sitting above the little envelope. It was a text. He knew that because Lorelai sent him more than his fair share over time.

_Nurse said ur stalkin the babies. Go home, babe, sleep. Ill c u in the mornin. Love u. _

Luke sighed at the words, but he couldn't help the smile from curving his lips while he went to work in sending a return message. It was something he didn't do very often because it took him forever to type a sentence, even with using 'text talk', but today was special.

_Im goin, jeez. Shouldnt u be sleepin? _Luke answered while turning to look down the hall. He began walking and right when he turned to glance back at the nursery window, another text came.

_Hey! No1 tells Lorelai Danes wat 2 do! Not even the mean old nurse! Ill sleep wen I wana sleep!_

Luke laughed while quickly poising his fingers over the keys to type the words, _Gilmore-Danes. Let me stay, please_, the message begging. After hitting send, Luke kept walking, his eyes on Lorelai's room. He approached the closed door and tilted his head to get a look through the window. A smile instantly appeared at finding Lorelai lying on her side in bed. She was facing the door but her attention was on the phone in her hand as her fingers were flying across the keyboard. And just seconds later, another text.

_Aw, hon, ull sleep better at home, in our bed. The babies and I need u 2 be good 2 go 2mrw_

After reading, Luke looked up to see Lorelai press her palm to her forehead. Her eyes fell closed as she began rubbing circles over her skin. She had a headache. She always did that when she had a headache, that Luke knew.

_U sure?_ He began to type with a grin. _Cause I could rub that 4 u_

Lorelai received the message not a minute later and at the words, her brows furrowed. She looked to her left, then looked to her right and there he was. Luke's smiling face in the window. Lorelai rolled her eyes at him, but smiled just the same while motioning for him to come in.

"How long have you been out there?"

Luke shrugged while walking through the room. "Not long."

Lorelai sighed while tossing her head back to the pillow. "I can't sleep."

Luke nodded while stopping to kick his shoes off. "Thought you'd be sawing logs by now," he said with a grin.

"Pot calling the kettle black," Lorelai murmured with narrowed eyes at him. "And I do not snore."

"Small logs. Really small logs," he added.

"Mean," she accused, her lips pouting.

Luke smiled while pulling his flannel off, then tossing it on the chair and heading for the bed.

"Leaving the jeans on?" Lorelai asked with a frown.

Luke nodded. "I didn't bring anything with me. Wasn't even thinking about that when we were packing your stuff."

"I forgot too. But then again, I thought you'd sleep home."

"Really? You thought I'd leave you alone here?" he challenged with raised brows.

"You left before without much of a fight," she defended.

Luke nodded in agreement. "You seemed pretty agianst me staying, so of course I wasn't gonna fight you on it. Not after today," he added.

"I just wanted you to be comfortable. We're not gonna fit too well in here, babe."

Luke shrugged, the thought not bothering him as he climbed into bed. Lorelai automatically curled to her side, just like at home and Luke took his usual spot behind her with his hand over her hip and her body pressed to his. Only difference was they didn't have as much room as normal.

"We probably coulda got another bed in here," Lorelai murmured a moment later. "Sorry, hon, I didn't think of that earlier."

"Me either," he returned. "Nothing to be sorry for," he assured her before pressing a kiss to her neck and tightening his hold around her.

Lorelai sighed while letting her eyes flutter closed. She knew she'd be able to fall asleep now with him next to her. Having been with him so long, having spent so many nights together, she found that it was hard to fall asleep without him whenever they were apart, though its been a long time since that's happened. And add being alone in a hospital room and Lorelai knew she'd be in for a long night. But then her stubborn hubby saved the day, just like always.

"Thank you," she whispered, her voice barely loud enough to generate any sound. Her body was fading fast.

"What I'm here for," Luke answered while pulling her closer to his body, if that were possible.

"Take your jeans off," she muttered, the words lazy.

"I'm okay."

"But-"

"Shhh. Go to sleep, Lorelai," he said, his voice soft.

And with that, Lorelai put her hand over his, holding him to her covered belly and drifted off to sleep. Luke was right behind her.

_Next Morning_

She woke up and he wasn't next to her. At first, she turned, sat up a bit, looked around the room, called his name, but when no answered returned, the light bulb went off. She knew exactly where he was. She'd even bet money on it. She'd put all her savings, her house, her Inn, even her favorite pair of shoes on the line, that's how sure she was. And not a moment later, her suspicions were confirmed.

"Mom?" Rory called, her tone hushed as she proped the door open.

"Hey, you," Lorelai's groggy voice said while she sat up further.

"I passed Luke on the way and he wanted me to give you this," she said while holding a cup out. "It's decaf but he said it's either this or herbal tea," Rory explained with a grin.

"Sadists," Lorelai muttered, but she took the cup anyway.

"You should see him, mom," Rory started while sitting on the edge of the bed. "He's standing in front of the nursery window with his arms crossed over his chest and this 'don't-mess-with-me-I-don't-care-if-you're-a-nurse-I'll-beat-you-to-a-pulp-anyway-if-you-hurt-my-baby' look on his face, but all the poor woman is doing is trying to calm Bella down. She's crying."

"Aw no," Lorelai said while frowning at her eldest. "Maybe she's hungry. I should tell them to bring her in here. What about Liam? What was he doing?"

"Sleeping right through the screams," Rory said with a smirk.

"Ah, so not only does he look like daddy, but he sleeps like him too," Lorelai said with a matching smirk.

"You should rethink that name. Junior probably fits better."

Lorelai shook her head while smiling at her daughter. "Luke said Liam looks like his dad."

"Really?"

"Yeah. He said he looks like his father did when he was a baby. And he's got pictures to show me."

"That must be bittersweet for him, you know?"

Lorelai nodded. "Especially with what happened to his dad... I know it's hard for him, but there's some pride there too; I can see it. And I know he's happy about it, but there's a part of him that's scared too," she explained through a sigh. "The way he looks at me sometimes... the way he was looking them, at Liam... I think apart of him thinks something's gonna happen to us and now with Liam being named after his dad, looking like his dad... I don't know, maybe it wasn't a good idea naming the little guy after his grandpa."

"What? Mom, that's crazy. Nothing's gonna happen to Liam just because he looks like Luke's dad. They're related, of course they're gonna look alike," Rory reasoned with a shrug.

"I know, but... I don't know," Lorelai gave up. "It is crazy, but I think no matter what I say, nothing will change how Luke's feels, and I hate that. He's always gonna worry. He's gonna be really protective of them. Like he is with me," she added.

"But isn't that a good thing? I mean as long as it doesn't get to the point where it's too much, isn't it good? He cares about you and about the twins. Some dads are barely in their kids lives; take my dad for example," she started with a small smile. "He isn't around much but the twins will always have Luke. I think it's good that he's a little scared for them. He'll always look out for his kids," Rory said, her eyes on the blanket as she rubbed the material between her fingers.

"Aw, baby," Lorelai said with a frown while holding her arms out and Rory quickly wrapped her arms around her mom, leaning her chin on Lorelai's shoulder.

"I'm okay," she tried to assure Lorelai. "It's not like I've ever really needed him anyway. I have you," she said through a sigh while closing her eyes and burying her face in her mom's shoulder.

Lorelai smiled before dropping a kiss to her daughter's forehead and whispering, "you have Luke too."

"Yeah," Rory agreed, "I have Luke."

_Later_

Luke managed to smuggle her in some food from the diner but almost two hours since he's brought the burger and fries and it hadn't even been touched yet. Luke found this out when he came back from a second trip home because he forgot a few things. When he walked through the room, he found his wife asleep in bed with Liam at her breast. As he got closer he found that the baby's eyes were too closed, but that didn't stop him from eating. His little mouth was moving, slow and steady. And the new daddy couldn't help but smile.

"Your son," Luke whispered.

"Hm?"

"Sorry, didn't mean to wake you," Luke apologized.

"Not sleeping," Lorelai murmured.

"Getting there," Luke said while tucking a few stray locks behind her ear.

"Food."

"Can't eat and sleep like your son, huh?" Luke asked with an amused smile.

Lorelai peaked her eyes open, looked down and smiled at her baby boy who seemed to be fading fast, but still was managing to eat. "Smart boy."

Luke nodded in agreement. "So I ran into Kate. She said you can leave tonight if you want, but the hospital recommends you stay until morning. Up to you though. She said you're doing good and the babies are great so there's really no reason to stay," he explained with a shrug.

Her eyes popped open again. "I can leave today?" she asked, perking up at the thought of not having to spend another night in a strange bed.

"Yeah," Luke said with a smile. "She said you just have to wait until at least twenty four hours which is," he started while looking down at his watch, "in an hour."

"Oh, what are you waiting for!? We gotta pack! Let's move! Move! Move!" Lorelai cheered while starting to sit up, but then realizing there was still a baby clamped to her chest. "Oh, sorry little man, forgot you were there for a sec," she apologized while brushing her fingers over his cheek.

"Your mom can go from 0-90 in less than 60 seconds. You'll get used to it," Luke promised.

"Yes I can, but since at this particular moment, I have your son's mouth attatched to my nipple, time for you to step up to the plate and get all this crap packed," she said with a sweet smile while patting his arm.

"She's good at ordering people around too," Luke said through a sigh.

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Stop filling his head with lies and get movin', burger boy. We're bustin' outta here in an hour whether you're ready or not," she warned.

"Guess I went and got this for nothing," he said while holding up a big filled with some of her things."

"Save it for next time."

"Next time?" Luke panicked. "What do you mean next time? When next time? What's next time?" he fired away, freaking out at the thought of a next time.

Lorelai laughed. "Kidding, babe," she assured him.

"Oh," Luke said, relief instantly washing over him. "Good... I mean if you want a next time, I guess we can talk about it, but we haven't even got this time home yet. I may not be good at this time and if im not, we probably shouldn't have a next time, so you should probably hold off on next time until we see how this time goes," he babbled before releasing a breath.

"And you need a giant chill pill," Lorelai said with a smile while reaching to rub his arm. "Don't worry, I'm not thinking about next time. I'm still trying to wrap my head around this time," she said with a smile.

"Yeah, me too," Luke agreed as his eyes trailed from Liam to Bella and back again.

"And Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"You'll be great at this time," she said with a big smile.

"And if I'm not?"

Lorelai shrugged. "Then we sell them to the circus and get a golden retriever."

"As long as you have a plan."

Her smile widened. "I do."

_To be continued..._

**And here comes the part where I ask everyone to please, review!!!! Thank you!!!**


	4. The One Where Luke Isn't Alone

**Author's Note-**

_I know, I took way too long getting this next chapter out but hopefully a little length helps with the time gap. And thanks for the great reviews on the last chapter!!!! I'll be eternally greatful if they keep on comin'!!!! _

_Enjoy!!!_

**Everyday**

**Chapter Four: The One Where Luke Isn't Alone With The Babies**

_(Mid May)_

_Knock! Knock!_

"Why are they knocking?" Lorelai groaned.

Luke took a fleeting glance at his watch before saying, "because it's a quarter to 7."

"Yes, and that would've been the right answer if I asked 'why are they here?' But not what I asked."

"They're your parents; they're polite and rich; they knock before going into their daughter's house," he said with a small shrug while reaching for a wipey.

"And they should know having nearly three week old infants makes it impossible to answer the door. At least in a timely manner," she said while swiping a clean diaper.

Before Luke could rally back, another knock came.

"They must know we're here. We're _always_ here!" Newborn twins!" she shouted while snapping the diaper in place.

"Next time I'll put a sign on the door," Luke said, his voice dull as he began snapping the weensy closed.

"Where the hells Rory? She could've answered the door," Lorelai grumped while peaking to check on Luke's progress before reaching for a tiny sock that had been kicked off.

"She's not coming."

Lorelai looked up in surprise while planting a hand on her baby's belly.

"She has a late final or something for school," the man explained with a helpless shrug while keeping his eyes on the prize.

"And you didn't think to let the mother know that her daughter wouldn't be coming to dinner?"she asked incredulously with a pointing finger at her chest. "I haven't seen her since the babies were born."

"She came to the party."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Fine; I haven't seen her since _two _days after the babies were born. Better?"

"Done!" he exclaimed.

Lorelai's mouth fell open while she turned to look at a pants-less, one-sock-less Bella, the little girl busy sucking away on a pacifier with her eyes looking through the open window. "You did that unpurpose," she accused with narrowed eyes aimed at her husband.

"Mommy's just mad 'cause she lost," Luke cooed to Liam while picking the boy up and holding him to his chest.

"No; mommy's mad that she's stuck with diaper duty for the weekend," Lorelai grumbled while turning back to finish Bella as another knock was heard.

"You're the one who wanted to turn diaper changing into a contest," he said with a smile while absentmindedly rocking back and forth.

"Well, I've been doing it for years; I should be able to go pro by now. And you play dirty. Not fair."

Luke's smile widened. "Maybe next time you won't want to make things interesting."

"Or maybe we'll have share time before going to battle," she said pointedly.

Another knock.

"I'll get it," Luke said before quickly leaving the room.

Lorelai sighed while turning back to Bella. "And here I thought picking the one without the little mini squirt gun would tip the odds in my favor," she said sadly while lifting Bella to her chest. She left a kiss across her baby's light, soft brown hair, then turned to go downstairs, leaving Liam's dirty diaper right where Luke left it.

_Downstairs_

"Finally!" Emily nearly exclaimed when Luke answered the door. "I was about to call the police. I thought something happened."

"Sorry," Luke apologized while motioning for them to come in. "We were upstairs changing their diapers."

"And how is my grandson?" Richard asked with a proud smile while taking his coat off. "He looks like he's in need of a nap," the man said thoughtfully.

Luke looked down at his boy while rubbing small circles over the baby's back. "He just woke up so he might still be a little tired."

"And my granddaughter?"

"With Lorelai. They should be down any minute."

"Does she need help?" Emily asked.

"No. I'm here," Lorelai called while coming down the stairs. "Hey mom; hey dad."

"Hello, Lorelai," Richard greeted with his eyes on Bella.

"Oh, I think she dropped this," Emily realized while bending to the floor to retrieve the fallen pacifier. She then stood up and held the nipple to Bella's searching mouth and through closed eyes, instinct took over and the infant began sucking away at a mile a minute.

"Baby says thank you," Lorelai whispered through a grin.

Emily rolled her eyes while sitting back down. "So, Luke, how are things? You seem to be adjusting to fatherhood rather well," she complimented with a smile.

Luke nodded. "So far, so good."

"Tell 'em which part is your favorite," Lorelai encouraged while taking a seat next to her husband.

"What?"

"You know, the drinking..." she prodded.

"Drinking?" Richard question.

Luke was still confused. Lorelai gave him a look.

"Ah, jeez," the man groaned. "This is pay back for the diapers, isn't it? Sore loser," he murmured under his breath.

"Lorelai?" Emily pushed, not understanding.

With a wicked grin, Lorelai turned to her parents. "Luke gets a kick outta watching me lactate."

"Your mama's mean," Luke whispered to his boy.

"Hey, mama's just telling it like it is."

"Well mama should learn to put a lid on it."

"Honestly, Lorelai," Emily scolded with a shake of her head.

"I'm gonna check on dinner," Luke announced while getting to his feet. "Anyone want him?"

"Someone save him or else its straight to baby jail for the poor little boy," Lorelai said while tilting her chin at the pack n play.

"May I?" Emily asked.

"Of course," Luke granted while walking to the chair just in front of the banister. And after carefully transferring his fragile son to the boy's grandmother, he headed for the kitchen.

"How 'bout I get drinks for everyone?" Richard volunteered.

"Martini, please," Emily requested with most of her attention focused on a snoozy Liam.

"Lorelai?"

The tired mom sighed while leaning back agianst the cushions with her hands holding Bella close. "I'm not allowed. _Someone _won't let me."

"You're breastfeeding!" Luke called from the kitchen.

"Not at this very moment!"

"You know what I mean!"

"Why can you only say the forbidden word if there's another word right after it?! Is it bad luck to say the word alone!? Will it curse my boobs if you do?!"

"I'm sorry for asking," Richard apologized with an amused grin while walking down the hall to the kitchen.

"He won't let me smoke either!" Lorelai tatteled.

"And since when do you smoke?" Emily challenged with arched brows.

"All I'm saying is it would be nice to have the option."

"Yes, I'm stopping you from poisoning your lungs; I'm a bad man. I should get twenty to life," Luke drawled while coming back down the hall with a glass of milk for his wife. "Here."

"You know, if I didn't like milk or gave a crap about cows, I wouldn't just drink this, no questions asked."

"It's good for you; It's good for the babies," he said, using the same line he's always used whenever he wanted her to eat or drink something healthy.

"The second my boobs are no longer in service, that won't work anymore," she warned.

He nodded before leaning towards her to leave a kiss on her forehead. Lorelai closed her eyes on contact while a sigh escaped her breath. "Drink up," he whispered before darting back to the kitchen.

"One of these days," Lorelai murmured, but none the less, she tiped the glass to her lips. Emily's smile grew.

XXX

Just after 7, the Gilmore-Danes clan were all seated in the kitchen around the rectangular, wooden table.

"I only ask because you made everything else bigger."

"The only thing we made bigger was my room-our room," Lorelai quickly corrected while handing the bread basket to her dad.

"And you purchased a bigger table," Emily added. "Asking why you didnt expand your kitchen was a perfectly valid question."

Lorelai shrugged before peaking at the babies and finding that both of them were still sound asleep in the pack n play at the end of the hall. "The room doesn't get much usuage, so why fix what isn't broken?" she reasoned. "I mean Luke cooks in here sometimes, but even that's not much. When he's working, he usually just makes food at the diner and brings it home."

"Yup," Luke echoed while standing over the table, his eyes surverying the contents, making sure everything they needed was there.

"Well, what about the living room?" Emily wondered. "Surely you could have made that room bigger. Soon enough you'll have two young children crawling all over the place. And there's you and Luke, plus Rory when she's home. Don't you think you need more space?"

Lorelai shrugged. "We'll just get rid of some furniture when they become mobile," Lorelai waved off as Luke slid into the seat next to her. "I always hated that weird half couch thing across from the old, icky chair and next to the really uncomfortable couch."

"We're not getting new furniture," Luke warned.

"Just a new couch," Lorelai bargained. "I think it's growing weak in it's old age."

"So you're telling me it was good when you bought it?" Luke challenged.

"Yes it was," she said primly with her chin high.

"Like sitting on a pile of rocks," he grumbled.

"I know!" she agreed.

"Just the couch."

"Thank you!" she exclaimed with a smile before kissing his cheek.

"Emily, can you please pass the mashed potatoes?" Richard asked while working on filling his plate. The woman nodded while passing the bowl. "So how are the nights? The twins still keeping you up at all hours?" Richard questioned.

"Liam's been okay, but his stubborn sister in there refuses to sleep more than two hours at a time, if that. It's like she has some internal alarm or something."

"You had the same problem with Rory," Emily reminded her daughter.

"That's right, I did," Lorelai remembered.

"How long did it last?" Luke asked.

"A couple of months, I think," Lorelai answered. "Then she mellowed out and would at least sleep for five or six hours at a time."

"And Liam hasn't been giving you problems?" Richard wondered.

"He has his moments," Luke said.

"And his nights," Lorelai added. "But he's pretty consistent. Asleep around 8, wakes up later during the night for a snack, falls asleep drinking, then back to lights outs and repeat. But my fussy little girl needs to be coerced into it. She needs some intense cuddling, a few songs, multiple rounds of rocking and a few wind ups on her mobile. And sometimes that doesn't even work and she ends up in bed with us. She really likes the bed," Lorelai explained with a shrug.

"You shouldn't let her sleep in bed with you," Emily warned. "Then she won't want to sleep in her crib."

"We don't have to worry about that," Luke said between bites.

"She already hates the crib. She won't even nap in it. If I even go near it with her in my arms, she freaks out. I have to sneak her in there while she's asleep and sometimes she wakes up when I put her down then it's all over," Lorelai warned darkly.

"Crying, a lot of crying," Luke mumbled through a sad sigh.

Lorelai frowned at her husband while rubbing her hand across his back.

"Have you ever thought of hiring help?" Emily questioned.

"No, mom, we don't want a nanny. We don't want someone else raising our kids."

Emily stiffened, taking the blow with her shoulders squared and her head high before continuing. "I just mean someone to help you with Bella's sleeping. Maybe a nanny could handle the late nights so the two of you could get a good night's rest. You took the help with Rory."

"I didn't have much of a choice."

"How's the diner?" Richard quickly asked his son in law, trying to avoid an uncoming storm.

"It's good, but business is always good when the weather is nice."

"Of course you had a choice," Emily defended herself.

"Are you kidding me? You had a full baby staff prepped and ready to go before I was even in my third trimester. You hired those pepole without telling me."

"I just wanted you to have help."

"How's the firm?" Luke asked, trying to derail the conversation.

"Well, I'm afraid I need to hire a new assistant. Karen's leaving the state. I hate finding new assistants," he complained.

"I didn't want help, mom."

"You're obviously too stubborn for your own good, Lorelai, so I did what I had to do to make sure Rory would be properly cared for."

"Uh oh," Luke mumbled.

Lorelai dropped her fork while looking up at her mother. "You thought I couldn't handle my own daughter?" she questioned, just daring her mom to agree.

"You were 16, Lorelai. You were a child raising a child. Of course you needed help."

"Emily, please," Richard begged.

"The second I left that house, it was me on my own, mother. I was with Rory, everyday, taking care of her and doing what had to be done. I didn't need your help," she said in a firm tone.

"Lorelai, your food's getting-" Luke started while at the same time Richard said, "Emily, you should eat bef-"

"Stay outta this!" both women snapped and not a second latter, cries came from the living room.

"Damn it," Lorelai cursed while pushing back from the table and hurrying inside.

Luke sighed while leaning back agianst his chair. "Look, Emily, I know what happened in the past happened and you and Lorelai will always have your problems, but can you try not to bring them up? Especially during dinner like this. Believe it or not, Lorelai looks forward to this every week. She won't admit it to you, but a apart of her does," he said while getting to his feet. "Maybe we should skip deseret tonight," he said before leaving the room to help his wife.

Emily was speechless for a moment before turning to her husband and saying, "I was simply trying to help my daughter, that's all."

"I know, dear," Richard said with a small smile while covering her hand with his own. "But maybe it's best if you didn't."

"Yes, maybe," she murmured.

_Later on that Night_

"Hey," Luke whispered while appearing in the doorway.

Lorelai looked up from where she was lying in bed with Bella in her arms, the girl's tiny lips around her her mommy's nipple as she drank her late evening snack. "Liam down?"

"For the count."

"Come snuggle with us," Lorelai said while patting the space next to her.

Luke pushed away from the doorway to crawl into bed next to his wife and daughter. He put his arm around Lorelai, urging her to lie back agianst his side while his eyes found Bella and instantly, he was mesmorized by her.

"You staring?" Lorelai whispered while rubbing her finger across her baby's moving cheek.

"Uh huh."

Lorelai's smile grew. "You're in love with her, aren't you?"

"Afraid so."

"It's good that you love our kids, Luke. You have no idea how happy that makes me."

The man smiled further before turning to kiss Lorelai's soft cheek. "Rory called while you were in the shower."

"Aw, really?" she asked. Luke nodded. "We keep missing eachother."

"She's coming for the weekend."

Lorelai turned to look at him. "She is?" she asked, hopeful.

"Yeah. Her last final is in the morning, but after that, she's all yours. She said she's got a girl's day planned or something," he said through a shrug.

"But the babies-"

"I'll be here."

"I know, but both of them? All day?" she asked with doubtful eyes while biting down on her lower lip.

"We'll be fine," Luke assured her. "I'm here everyday; I know their routine."

"Yes, but-"

"You're going," he said firmly. "I know you miss being out there and I know you miss Rory. She's not coming by until after 12 and you'll be back for dinner. She already put your orders in," he said through a grin. "We'll be okay for the afternoon and if something happens, which it won't, you know half those lunes are always on standby."

"If you're sure you're gonna be okay," Lorelai said with a tinge of uncertainty in her voice as she looked back at Bella, watching as her baby girl drank peacefully while her tired blue eyes fluttered open and closed about every other minute.

"We'll be okay," Luke confirmed.

"Okay, but if you need-"

"I'll call."

"And if you have a-"

"I'll call."

"And if there's an-"

"I'll call."

"Okay then," Lorelai said before blowing out a breath. "Just a few hours."

"Don't worry," Luke whispered, his voice close to her ear. "That's my job."

Lorelai looked up to grant him a small smile. "I'll try not to."

A moment of silence fell as the two tired, but proud parents watched over their baby as she fell asleep at her mother's breast.

"Wow," Lorelai awed, her voice low. "She usually doesn't conk out during a meal."

"She never went back to sleep earlier. She's probably tired," Luke reasoned.

"Thank God," Lorelai breathed while carefully turning to bury her face in Luke's chest.

"We'll talk tomorrow?" Luke asked while wrapping his arms around her.

"About what?"

"Dinner."

Lorelai's eyes peeped open. "What's there to talk about? We ate, they left, I showered."

"Lorelai-"

"We had a fight, Luke; it's nothing new and there's nothing to talk about."

"Even if you just wanna complain, I'm listening," he offered.

Lorelai tilted her face up to give him a weak smile. "I know, babe and I appreciate it, but I'm just too tired to even do that. We'll always find something to fight about; she'll always linger on the past and there's nothing I can do about it. I can't change what happened; I can't change getting pregnant at 16, and I don't want to. She just can't accept that,. There's nothing I can do."

Luke nodded. "I'm sorry," he apologized.

"You didn't do anything."

"Yeah, well..."

Lorelai reached up to spread her fingers over his scruffy cheek. "Thank you."

He smiled. "You're welcome."

The next morning it was just 10 minutes before 12 when Lorelai was standing in front of her closet in nothing but a robe and make up.

"I'm fat," she complained.

"You're not fat."

"Yes I am. I'm just not as fast as I was before, but I'm still fat."

"You just had twins," he reminded her.

"And they're out now but I'm still fat."

"Takes time to lose weight," Luke answered distractedly while going around their room, gathering laundry.

Lorelai turned to look at him. "You saying I need to lose weight?"

"I think you look great," Luke answered on reflex. "_You_ think you need to lose weight."

She narrowed her eyes. "Nice save."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome." Lorelai then sighed while turning back to her closet. "I'm fat."

Luke just shook his head before quickly leaving the room.

XXX

Luke was going around the living room, using up every moment of the twins nap time to clean up when Rory walked in.

"Hey," the college girl called in a loud whisper.

Luke quickly rounded the couch and popped up in the foyer to great her. "Hey. Good to see you, Rory," he said with a smile while reaching to hug his stepdaughter.

"Good to see you too, Luke. Where is everyone?"

"The babies are asleep and your mom's getting dressed."

"Okay, well I guess I'll unpack while she's still busy."

Luke nodded. "Fresh coffee in the kitchen."

"Bless you!"

Luke smiled.

While the Danes man was cleaning up and Rory was unpacking her things, Lorelai finally decided on an outfit.

"Hey, mom. Long time, no see," Rory said through a grin while walking through the living room.

"Look at what I'm wearing!"

"So?"

"I'm down to sweats and a hoodie. I look like I'm going jogging," she said while frowning down at her body.

"No one wears flip flops to go running," Rory waved off.

"You know what I mean. Before all this, I was a hot, gorgeous, _thin_, mom and now I'm dressed like an old hag for a day out on the town. This is not okay."

"She thinks she's fat," Luke whispered to Rory in passing.

"Oh, mom, no one cares what you're wearing. Now come on, we have manicures to get to," she enticed.

"Fine," Lorelai grumped while coming down the stairs. "But I only have a few hours before I need to pump or I'm gonna have a leaking problem."

"Duly noted. Let's go."

Once the girls were gone, Luke took a look around. The twins were still asleep and he noticed just how quiet the house became when the girls weren't there to fill it with noise. But of course, the peace only lasted a moment as familiar cries brought him back to reality. His little girl was awake. Last one down, first one up. Luke couldn't figure her out; she was like her mom in that way and Luke was sure there were more similarities to come.

_The Inn_

Before heading to the salon for manicures, Lorelai and Rory thoguht they'd surprise Michel and Sookie.

"Well, hello there hansome," Lorelai greeted in a breathy, southern accent. "Aren't you just the cutest little french man I ever seen."

Michel looked up from the desk and his face instantly fell at who he found standing in the lobby. "If you came here to torture me, don't bother; the sweaty bikers have taken care of that."

"Oh, that's right, the bikers are back."

"That time of year," Rory added.

"I guess they were such a hit last year that Taylor let them ride through town again."

"They left disgusting sweat all over the place this morning. I spent hours cleaning," he complained.

"Michel, we pay people to clean."

"Well, they don't do it good enough!" he huffed before turning on his heel and stumping away.

"I hear if they don't come back on time this year, Taylor's suing their leader," Rory said through her giggles.

"Oh, maybe they'll be on _Judge Judy_! That would be a hoot!"

Meanwhile, back at the crapshack, everything was going good until little Liam decided to wake up and join the party.

"Oh, uh," Luke panicked helplessly, his eyes darting back and forth between who was lying in his arms, drinking a bottle and Liam, who would wail any minute now if food wasn't presented to him. He was okay so long as a nipple was in his mouth not a few minutes after he wakes up.

"Okay, buddy, she's almost done," Luke called, knowing familiar voices usually calmed him. But then the phone rang. Luckily the cordless was just next to him.

"Hello?"

"_Oh, hey, Sugah, how ya doing?!"_ Babette boosted.

"Fine, Babette," he answered distractedly as Bella started to fuss. He looked down to find that her bottle was empty. She wanted to be burped and probably changed.

Babette covered the mouthpeice before turning to the small crowd behind her. "He say he's fine."

"For now," Gypsy threw in.

"_Luke, sweetie, we heard Lorelai isn't home."_

"She isn't. Why?" he asked without thinking while scrambling to get an impatient Bella into a burping position.

"_And you have the babies?"_

"Yeah."

"_We'll be right in!" _she promised before hanging up.

"Wait, what?" Luke demanded, but it was too late.

Just outside, Babette, Patty, Gypsy, Lulu and Kirk were in a huddle while coming up with a game plan.

"Wait, what about me?" Kirk asked after he wasn't given a task.

"You can stay here and wait for Liz. She's on her way," Patty said.

"Got it. I'll wait for her," Kirk said with such a serious tone before saluting Patty.

"You're the perfect man for the job, honey buns," Lulu said with a smile before kissing his cheek.

"Thanks, snuchums."

"I got the key!" Babette exclaimed before everyone filed behind her. "Open and run! Open and run!" she shouted.

_Salon_

"Do you think I need a hair cut?" Lorelai asked her daughter as they sat side by side, getting their nails done.

"I thought you were trying to grow it out a little."

"I am," Lorelai confirmed while looking down at her dark locks that about reached the curve of her bra cup. "But maybe to get rid of the dead ends."

"Oh, yeah, I should get one too."

Lorelai nodded while turning just a bit. "Hey, Cindy, any chance you can fit your two favorite clients in for a quick trim?"

"Of course," the woman said with a grin.

"Great, thanks, Cindy!"

"You're welcome!"

"Okay, so cuts and nails; what's next?"

"I was thinking lunch, then movies, then depending on time, run through _starbucks_."

"And cheat on Luke!?" Lorelai gasped.

"Soup plantation!"

"Still cheating!"

"Buffest, rainbow sprinkles, a zillion different kinds of soups..."

"Who says Luke has to know," Lorelai reasoned.

"Exactly," Rory said with a smile. "This is fun, huh?"

"Hey, it's been weeks since I've seen you. Anything that doesn't include spitting up or breastfeeding is fun for me."

Rory laughed. "You think Luke is doing okay?"

"Yeah; he'd call if he needed me. Plus, I warned Babette that I won't be home and I asked her to call and check in every once and a while."

"Good idea."

Lorelai smiled. "Thought so."

_Crapshack_

"Don't worry, dollface, we're here to help," Babette said as the women swamped the house, everyone going to their tasks. "Why don't you go on upstiars and take a nap. Put your feet up! You're lookin a little rough there, sugah."

"No, really, Babette, you guys should go home; I'm fine," Luke insisted while getting to his feet.

"No, no, you need sleep!" Babbette countered while pushing him towards the staircase. "And don't you worry; Patty's in the kitchen, cooking some dinner for later; Gypsy's cleaning up; Lulu has that cute little boy over there and I'll take this precious baby girl," she said while trying to take Bella from Luke.

"Did Lorelai tell you to come here?"

"No, she just wanted me to call, but it seemed like things were getting crazy, so we came! And if you don't go upstairs and gimme that baby right now, I'm I'm gonna have to call Lorelai," she warned.

Luke sighed. If she called Lorelai, his wife would come rushing home and he knew she really needed today. She needed time alone with her first born. He wouldn't take that away from her.

"Fine, I'll go, but just for a little while," he warned while transferring Bella to Babette's arms. "And if you need me, wake me up."

"Yeah, yeah, we got it! Now go!"

Luke had no choice but to trudge his way upstairs and lie down. He thought about sleeping since he had the opportunity, but even if he really wanted to, there was just too much comotion going on downstaris.

"Crazy town," he muttered.

_Later On_

When Lorelai and Rory arrived home, they walked into a spotless, quiet house. Curious looks covered their faces as they wondered into the living room to find Babette sitting on the couch, reading a magazine.

"Hey, Babette."

"Oh, hey dollfaces. You girls have fun?"

Lorelai looked at Rory, then back to her neighbor. "Is everything okay, Babette?"

"Oh yeah, fine, sugah," she reported with a smile.

"Where's Luke?"

"Upstairs, sleeping. He looked tired so we sent him upstiars."

"We?"

"Yeah, the girls and I were here to help. But don't worry, everything was fine."

"Oh, well, thanks, Babette."

"Anything for you girls and those babies! They're so cute I could faint just lookin at 'em!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, the good genes pulled through," Lorelai said with a smile.

Babette nodded. "They're sleeping in Rory's room. We moved the pack n play 'cause it was quieter in there; dinner is sitting in the oven, ready to go and I'll see you two later!" she boosted before leaving.

When her neighbor left, Lorelai turned to Rory and said, "what the hell was that?"

"I have no idea."

"This place is clean, really really clean."

"Yeah."

"Dinner is made. By someone other than Luke."

"Weird."

"Luke's asleep. _Before_ the dinner _he _usually makes got eaten."

"Weirder."

Lorelai sighed. "I'm gonna go up, find out what happened."

"I'll get plates and everything."

Lorelai smiled before kissing her cheek. "Good plan, babe. Meet u down here in a few minutes."

When Lorelai walked through her bedroom, she found her hubby right where Babette said he'd be: asleep on the bed. With a wide smile, she crawled across the covers and slid up next to him. She then leaned over to take his lips in a slow, gentle, promising kiss. It always did the trick.

"Wha?" Luke asked while slowly waking up.

Lorelai smiled. "Asleep on the job, huh?" she asked, amused at his disorientation.

"I fell asleep," he said, confused, while looking around.

"Yes you did."

"I don't remember falling asleep."

"Babe, what happened?" she asked while rubbing his covered belly. It always soothed him.

"They came and took over. I didn't have a choice."

"Yeah, I heard something like that," Lorelai said through a nod.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I didn't ask them to come."

"I know, hon, it's okay," she assured him. "You do look tired."

"I'm fine. Where's the twins?"

"Nap time. And Im thinking their daddy should get back to his."

"But-"

Lorelai stopped him, kissing away the words before he could say them. "I'll wake you up later for bed time, I promise. Please, sleep."

"But dinner-"

"Is done; they cooked."

Luke sighed while letting his body fall to the mattress.

"You surrendering?" she whispered. He nodded. "And Lorelai wins again."

_To Be Continued.._

**Please Review!!! Thank you!!!**


	5. The One With All The Crying

_Thanks for the kind-hearted reviews left for the last chapter. They're greatly appreciated. :D_

_Enjoy! _

**Everyday **

**Chapter Five: The One With All The Crying**

_(Late June)_

_Crapshack_

"Come on, babe, pick up," Lorelai whispered urgently into the phone as the dulled ringing continued to sound.

Eventually it went to voicemail and after the usual message played, Lorelai sighed while worry creased her furrowed brows.

"Hey, sweets; I know it's kind early," she said through a wince while glancing at the clock, "but I thought you'd be up with... well, you know, with everything going on there. I just want you to know that I'm here to talk if you need me and you say the word and I'll be there live and in person at the drop of a hat. I know you said you wanted to be alone today and I'm gonna respect that until lunch, at which time I will be bringing over your favorite- a Luke's burger with a side order of cheese fries and a chocolate, chocolate ice cream from Taylor's to have while we watch Sophia die over and over again. See? The perfect lunch," Lorelai described through a shaky smile. "Anyway, I know you're probably keeping to yourself right now, but honey, please, please call me soon, okay? I know you're not a little kid anymore, but you're still my kid and as your mom, I need to know that you're okay- well, as okay as you can be right now, okay? I'll even take a text; I just need to hear from you. I love you, babe, and I promise this'll get better. You'll see."

"No answer?" Luke mumbled through closed eyes.

"No," Lorelai said while frowning as she held the phone tightly in her hand.

"She's probably asleep."

"Yeah, maybe," Lorelai agreed doubtfully.

"Give her time."

Lorelai nodded before looking down at the covers. "I know."

Luke rolled onto his back while pealing his eyes open. He turned his head to the side to peak at the time and sighed when he saw that it was just before 8. Ever since the babies were born, he's been waking up later and later because of long days and longer nights.

"Com'ere," he ordered gruffly while patting his chest.

Lorelai looked between the phone and her husband with biting down on her lower lip.

"Bring it."

"Thank you," Lorelai whispered and a small smile took her lips as she cuddled up to her hubby. She pressed up agianst his body while burrowing her face into his chest. The phone was kept tucked underneath her chin as she closed her eyes and relaxed into him. She couldn't help but take comfort in the faint scents of coffee and burgers, bits and pieces of the aromas seeming to always follow him.

Luke automatically hooked his arm over her hip, protectively pulling her body close to his. He then pressed his lips to her forehead, holding a long kiss to her skin while breathing in her cocoanut shampoo.

"How long do you think we have?" Lorelai mumbled as Luke was busy leaving small kissees across her forehead and to her temple.

"Three minutes," he guessed. "If we're lucky."

A sigh escaped Lorelai's parted lips as she turned back to find her comfy spot agianst his chest.

"I miss her," she whispered a moment later.

Luke gave Lorelai a kiss of acknowledgement before pulling her closer, if that were possible.

"I miss my Rory... she's different... changed.." Lorelai mumbled sadly.

"She's still your Rory," Luke argued in the same hushed, gentle tone.

Lorelai wordless shook her head.

"She's just growing up, becoming an adult. She's gonna change a little," he explained softly while brushing her dark curls from her face and tucking the locks behind her ear. "She'll always be Rory."

Lorelai shook her head in protest while peaking her eyes open at Luke and the man frowned at her cloudy blue orbs.

"Hey, hey, it's okay," he assured her while leaning back enough to catch a stray tear on the pad of his thumb. "Don't cry," he pleaded before wiping away the path left from the salty water.

"Sorry," Lorelai apologized while clamping her eyes closed in her effort to hold in her tears, but the move just made things worse.

"What can I do?" Luke asked desperately.

"Bring Rory back."

Luke frowned further as one by one, her tears fell. The man did all he could in that moment. He hugged his wife close while smoothing his fingers through her hair as he whispered words of comfort in her ear. Soon enough she fell asleep in his arms with tear stains on her cheeks and the phone clutched to her chest.

He knew he made a mistake of thinking that things were okay. For thinking that wounds from months back were healed without scars left behind. But he was wrong.

His wife, his beautiful, happy, loving wife was still scared. He thought the crying had ceased, the pain a thing of the past, but that wasn't the case. And as he lay in that quiet room, holding the girl he loved, he tried to think of something, anything to fix it, to make things okay again. But Luke Danes, the man who had no problem fixing most anything else, couldn't find a solution to this one. And not being able to help his wife, make her happy again, it caused him more pain than it did her.

_XOX_

Her body stretched underneath the thin sheet covering her as she returned to consciousness. Seconds later, her lids parted, revealing her tired blue eyes to the late morning rays that poured in through the flimsy, sheer curtains covering her window.

After blindly reaching her arm out to the spot next to her and realizing that it was empty, Lorelai frowned.

"Luke?" she croaked in question through a voice raspy from sleep.

No answer.

The pout on Lorelai's face grew as she looked up to her night stand and discovered that the time was just after ten. And before her gaze could leave the bright numbers, a familiar feeling crept up through her chest.

"Hey. You're up," a soft, but deep voice called.

Lorelai looked up to find her husband standing in the doorway with a sleeping baby curled up to his chest and another cranky one fussing at his neck. The sight made her smile but Luke couldn't help but note that it didn't quite reach her eyes.

"He's probably hungry," Lorelai said while sitting up agianst the head board.

Luke nodded while walking around to her side of the bed. "I would've given him a bottle but I gave Bella the last one. She couldn't wait for you," he said through a smirk.

Lorelai nodded as she worked to undo the buttons of the flannel she wore. "I'll pump later."

"Ready to eat, pal?" Luke asked his son before wiping away tears of hunger with a sweeping kiss over the boy's soft cheek.

"You shoulda left the girl inside. Liam may sleep through the crying, but you're little sweet heart can't," Lorelai teased while smirking as she gently pried the boy from his father's chest to bring him to her own.

"She sleeps like you," Luke defended absentmindedly when suddenly he became enratpured in a ritual he's grown used to seeinng. He watched with interest as his two- month old soon stopped crying long enough to open his dark blue eyes and let his instincts take over so he could find his mother's breast, aka- his late morning snack.

A smile spread across Luke's face at the scene, at how a feeding never failed to calm his babies down.

Luke's mesmorized gaze trailed from his boy to Lorelai's face and at her easy, warm smile, his own doubled. To see her like that, to see her so content and at peace, if even for a moment, it was enough to make him happy for that same moment.

"I'm sorry about earlier," Lorelai apologized, her voice breaking through Luke's daze.

"For what?"

"The crying, the sleeping."

"Lorelai," he warned.

She shook her head. "Don't tell me it's okay, because it's not."

"You're allowed to get upset," he said gruffly while getting to his feet, then walking across the room to the pack n play that was set up.

"Not over something that happened months ago. And you hate the crying; it freaks you out."

Before arguing back, Luke carefully bent over the portable crib, holding his hand to his daughter's back as he slowly and carefully lowered the sleeping girl to her bed. But of course, no amount of speed- or lack there of- could fool Bella into thinking she wasn't being put down. And the second her small body landed on the mattress, she awakened with tears ready to rain.

"No, no, I'm sorry," Luke apologized quickly. "Damn it."

"Language," Lorelai warned.

Luke spared his wife a glare before turning back to the situation at hand. He looked to the dresser, swiped the pacifier that sat ontop then held the nipple to Bella's mouth. She took it, but that didn't do much to help, and he knew it wouldn't. The cries of protest faltered, but only ever so slightly. Salty water continued to flow down Bella's colored cheeks that were pink with upset while her poor dad fought tooth and nail with himself, the man trying not to give in. The doctor warned them just a week ago that getting in the habit of allowing Bella to always sleep in someone's arms will do more bad than good. He suggested the pack n play for now, but to try and get her used to the crib.

"The radio," Lorelai reminded him.

"Oh, right," Luke realized, and in that same moment he quickly reached to switch the radio on and soon, soothing sounds of the moving ocean filled the room. Lorelai got the idea from Sookie, who used it on her own son when Davy had trouble sleeping.

But like always, sounds of waves washing up on the beach, it wasn't enough for Bella, and so Luke went to plan B. He hummed a quiet tune while gently rocking the baby back and forth, brushing his fingers through her soft, growing hair as he held her to his chest.

Five minutes ticked by and finally, the little girl gave in. Her eyes fell closed and the pacifier dropped from her mouth. Luke smiled in relief.

"You didn't give in," Lorelai praised while giving the man a proud smile.

"Another minute and I would have.

Lorelai rolled her eyes."Softy."

"I don't like it when they cry," Luke said while reaching his side of the bed. He carefully slid in so he wouldn't disturb his son. "But that doesn't mean I can't handle it," he said pointedly.

Lorelai nodded and her gaze fell to the boy in her arms. She smiled as with every passing second, his eye lids dropped further and further. Before the minute was up, his blue eyes were hiddben from view and his previously moving mouth slowed to a near stand still. Lorelai brushed her finger over the curve of the boy's cheek while knowing that before the next minute would pass, his once hungry mouth would fall lax and his body would slumber for an hour, maybe more. Liam, she could set her watch by. Bella was a different story. At least, for now. She and Luke were hoping that would change and soon.

"I just hate that I have to be careful about what I say to her," Lorelai murmured quietly while watching with adoring eyes as Liam drifted further away. "Ever since what happened, I've been feeling like I'm walking on pins and needles around her. I feel like one wrong move and she's gone again," Lorelai explained through a sad voice, one laced with worry.

"She didnt' leave school to hurt you," Luke said while hooking his arm over her shoulder and gently pulling her back so she could lean agianst his chest.

"She stole a boat," Lorelai whispered awe. "She dropped out of school; she moved in with my parents. I can only imagine what she did while she was out. Probably partying and drinking and..." the thought stopped there and Lorelai took a breath before continuing."She was never like that. She was always about school and learning and ethics... the old Rory never would've stolen a boat. She never would have dropped out of school... she hasn't been around much. When she's not in class, she's with him and I hate him, Luke. I hate him for taking my daughter."

Luke shook his head. "You won't lose Rory," he said firmly.

"I'm such an idiot. He came to me, begging for my help and I did; I wrote that stupid letter for him. They were broken up and I helped them get back together. And now I just- I can't even say anything. I can't tell her what a bad influence he is; I can't tell her she's risking everything she's worked for by being with him; I can't tell her I hate him... I don't see her enough. I just... I don't want her to hate me again," Lorelai explained desperately as tears pooled in her eyes.

Luke felt helpless while his wife worked herself up into an upset. She was never an overly emotional person; in fact, it seemed that she always worked hard to stay strong. She didn't like to show weakness. And now, for Luke to see her crying twice in the same morning, to see her worried and afraid, it scared him.

10 seconds passed and he knew he needed to do something. He couldn't stand seeing her upset. And so he did something that maybe he shouldn't have.

Luke kissed her check, then signaled for her to lossen her grip on Liam. Once the baby was put between two pillows at the foot of the bed so he wouldn't roll off, Luke turned back to his wife and like earlier, she curled her body to his chest.

"She won't leave again," he said firmly. "I'm gonna make this better, okay?" he promised while sliding his hand between her open flannel and swaying his palm back and forth across her belly. "I'll fix it."

"How?" she asked between sniffles while wiping her eyes.

"Don't worry about that. Close your eyes," he commanded softly.

"But Bella, she'll wake up soon-"

Luke silenced her with a kiss. He parted a moment later to give her a warm, reassuring smile. "You need to rest. I'll take care of them for a while. You've been nonstop since they were born. Take the morning off, okay?" he asked softly.

If Lorelai didn't feel so tired, so defeated, she would have fought harder, but she just didn't have the strength.

"Hold me for a while?" she requested shyly while peaking up at him.

He nodded. "You bet."

And while Lorelai fell asleep in his arms, Luke mentally cursed himself for promising to fix something that he wasn't sure he could fix.

_XOX_

Luke dozed off but managed to stir not 15 minutes later. He knew he spent just a short time sleeping after checking the clock.

Lorelai was still asleep. After looking at the foot of the bed, Luke released a relieved breath that his son was right where he left him. And the quiet room told him that Bella was still lights out as well.

The still house gave Luke an idea. He saw an opportunity knocking.

Maybe, just maybe, he could keep his promise. Maybe he could fix things.

_XOX_

Luke called Babette, asked his neighbor if she could please come over and keep an ear out for the babies. He wouldn't be much longer than an hour. He told her Lorelai wasn't feeling well, so she was napping.

Of course, Babette agreed and not two minutes later, she showed up, barreling through the door in a frenzy, asking about the babies and Lorelai... Luke quickly assured the panicking woman that everything was okay and then he grabbed his keys and left.

_XOX_

He didnt' call first; he realized he probably should have, but he didn't. He didn't even think to until he was pulling into a parking lot across from her apartment building.

When he got to her apartment, he hesitated for a moment before knocking lightly on the door. Seconds later, he received a low 'come in' from a familiar voice.

She was sitting on the couch with a throw blanket wrapped around her back. Her legs were crossed and a carton of ice cream sat between them. On the coffee table in front of her there was a water bottle and a bowl of popcorn. Some old movie played on the T.V screen a few feet away from her.

Luke frowned at the scene before gently calling her attention.

"Luke," she said in surprise after looking up. "What's wrong? Is it mom? Did something happen? Is it one of the babies? Both of them? What happened?" she fired in a panic while fighting to free her legs from the tangled blanket.

"No, no, they're fine; everyone' fine."

The young adult blew out a breath before glaring at her step father. "I thought something happened! You never just show up here."

"Yeah, sorry about that," he apologized while shoving his hands into his pockets."I should've called."

"No, it's okay, but, um, did you need something? Did mom leave something here?"

"Well, yeah, she did."

"What is it? I'll get it."

"You."

Rory turned back to him with furrowed brows. "What?"

"I know Logan left earlier and you wanna be alone but your mom really needs you. She's been worried and you haven't answered her calls today and after what happened with the boat and leaving school and you've been busy with finals- she just hasn't seen you in a while and she got upset over it. She feels like she's losing you and I keep trying to tell her that's crazy, but apart of her believes it's true."

"She thinks she's losing me?" Rory asked through a frown.

Luke nodded. "I was hoping you'd come home with me and spend some time with your mom. She really just needs to be with you. And I thought seeing her would help you too."

Rory nodded. "I'll get my shoes."

_Crapshack_

"You won't grow up, will you? You'll stay with mommy forever?"

Liam continued to stare at his mom with wide, blue eyes.

"Can I take that as a yes?"

The boy answered by reaching an unsteady hand to his mom's face. Lorelai smiled in return while cuping the boy's loose fist in her hand, then leaving a kiss across his tiny knuckles.

"If you knew her better, you'd miss her too, little man."

"Mom?"

Lorelai instantly looked up at the questioning voice and her eyes lit up at the sight of her daughter standing in the doorway.

"Rory," she whispered.

"Is it okay that I'm here?" she asked hesitantly

Lorelai frowned at the young adult in front of her. Not that she thought Rory needed makeup, but her face was bare, her hair thrown in a messy pony tail, she wore sweats and T-shirt with a look in her eyes that as her mother, made Lorelai want to cry.

"Come here," Lorelai said while patting the pace next to her.

Rory pulled a small smile while moving further into the room, only stopping to take her shoes off and then she carefully tucked her body in underneath the covers, right next to her baby brother.

"Hey, long time, no see," the young Gilmore said before kissing Liam's cheek. The little boy kicked his legs in excitement at the affection given to him.

"Where's Bella?"

"Babette has her in the nursery."

Rory nodded while handing her brother the pacifier that he was trying to reach for.

"He's getting big."

Lorelai nodded.

"Hey," Luke called after popping in the doorway. "I'll take the boy; we got a game to watch."

"The red guys?"

Luke rolled his eyes. He must've told her the right name a million times. "Red Sox."

"Right, right," Lorelai said through a smirk.

"What happens if he grows up to be a Yankee fan?" Rory asked.

"Then we sell him on the black market and use the money to buy a new one; right, hon?"

"Right," Luke agreed while bending to scoop Liam from the bed. "Bella's gonna watch too so you guys can paint each other's nails or something," he said through a shrug while getting to his feet.

"Thanks, Luke."

"Yeah, thank you," Lorelai echoed while meeting the man's eyes to show him her happy smile.

He nodded back, smiling as her grin reached her eyes. Then he left to give them some privacy.

"Wanna watch a movie?" Rory asked.

"Only if it's a really bad one," Lorelai said before handing the remote to her daughter.

"Oh, I have candy," Rory realized as she turned to reach to the floor to grab the plastic bag that sat next to her shoes. "Luke stopped to get some."

"That Luke, he's something else."

"He loves us," Rory reasoned through a shrug while scooting closer to her mom, taking Liam's spot. She then dropped the bag to the small space between them before turning to flip the T.V on.

"I'm so glad you're home, babe," Lorelai said while reaching into the bag. "And not just because you come bearing red vines."

Rory rolled her eyes. "I love you too."

**TBC...**

**I know this took a while to get out, but I'm hoping that despite the long wait, you'll leave a review anyway. Maybe, hopefully, lol. I'd be eternally greatful!**

**I love reviews!!! Hehehe. :D**


	6. The One With Secrets and Lies

_As always, thank you readers and thank you reviewers! Love you guys! You keep me writing!! :D_

_Enjoy!_

**Everyday:**

**Chapter Six: The One With Secrets and Lies**

"Are you sure it's okay that I'm coming home for the summer?"

"For the millionth time, yes."

"Well, you have a husband and twins now, and you're not exactly living in a mansion; I don't wanna cram things up more than they already are."

"Yes, well, that may not be a problem for much longer."

"What?"

"You got that?!" Luke called from the doorway.

"No! Come help!"

Luke rolled his eyes. "It's a half empty box of shoes; I think you can handle it!"

"Then why'd you ask?!" Lorlai challenged.

"Old habbits die hard?" Rory guessed.

"What she said," Luke agreed.

"Dirty," Lorelai snickered.

Luke rolled his eyes; Rory smirked.

"I'll be upstairs; your mini me's getting cranky," Luke said before disappearing into the house.

"Oh, now she's _my_ mini me, but when she's being all sweet and cute, that's all you, right?! Are we forgetting who hatched her!?"

Rory wrinkled up her nose and said, "she's not a baby chick."

"Give her a decade plus and that'll be what the boys start calling her."

Rory smiled as they stopped on the porch to lower the box. "What were you saying before?"

"What?"

"Before Luke came out here," Rory clarified. "You started saying something about the house."

"Oh, well, it seems your grandmother ia in the market for a new house."

"Grandma's moving? By herself? Oh no, did they seperate again?!" Rory panicked.

Lorelai shook her head. "It's both of them. Last week I saw them walking around Star's Hollow and so naturally I went into spy mode and followed them."

"Naturally."

"And I did it up real good; I could totally be in the next Pink Panther. I was being all quiet, tip-toeing around, hiding behind trees. Anyone who didn't know me totally could've mistaken me for a real spy."

"We'll just pretend that's true."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome"

"So anyway, I followed them around and they walked into 3 houses," Lorelai explained while holding up 3 fingers to show, "and all of them had for sale signs sitting on the front lawns."

"Oh my God!" Rory awed. "They're moving here?!"

Lorelai nodded as her face turned to a frown. "The Gilmores are moving to Star's Hollow."

"But why?"

"Because Luke and I are married and we have kids and they wanna be around for that."

"Aw, that's sweet."

"No, not sweet," Lorelai countered as they carried another box across the lawn."I didn't move 30 miles away from them for no reason. Those 30 miles sitting between here and Stars Hollow are for my mother's protection. The distance acts as a buffer so that when my mother says something that makes me want to kill her, I have to drive 30 miles to do it! 10 miles in, I usually calm down or I get hungry or I pass a mall! Something prevents me from actually killing her. That buffer is my mother's best friend. Take the buffer away and you got Nancy Grace camping out on Miss Patty's lawn for a month. I'm telling you, if she moves here, she better sleep with one eye open because God only knows what I'm capable of without 30 miles standing in my way."

"Mom, come on."

"Don't 'mom, come on.' You know how they get, how _your _grandmother gets. And hey, you were the one who ran screaming from her fancy pool house not a year ago. Does that ring any bells?"

"Okay," Rory gave in as they set the next box down."Grandma can be a little much sometimes."

"All the time," Lorelai corrected.

"Some of the time," Rory countered firmly.

"Whatever. The point is, there is no way I can live in the same town as my parents. You don't leave home at 17 if you plan on spending the rest of your life with mean mommy and daddy."

"You're moving?" Rory asked.

"I don't want to, but I may not have a choice. One of the houses they looked at is two blocks away from here. _Two blocks_," Lorelai stressed. "Can you imagine? She'll probably call to schedule walking pools to town meetings and Friday night bingo at the church. This is bad, really, really bad."

"Walking pools?"

"Yes because who needs a car pool in a town this small! She can just pop on over any time for a cup of tea or a shower or whatever it is that grandparents do when they pop on over."

"Grandma's not the pop on over type," Rory said as they reached Luke's truck for another box.

"You never know, she could change. That's what small towns do, they change you," Lorelai warned darkly.

"You've been watching too much late night T.V again, haven't you? Luke's supposed to be monitoring that. It's a good thing I'm back home."

Lorelai sighed.

_XOX_

The girls finished bringing everything in just before their bellys' complained for lunch.

"I'll meet you in the kitchen," Lorelai promised as they parted ways in the foyer. Rory nodded while turning to the kitchen as her mom went for the stairs.

Lorelai peaked into her room and after finding it empty she proceeded with her journey towards the nursery.

"Hey, cuddle bear."

Luke lifted his droozy eyes to find his wife standing in the doorway. He gave her a lazy smile, it was all he could muster up. "Done?"

"Yup, she's all moved in. Although I think she should hold off on unpacking. One week here and she'll be running back to that apartment."

"Why'd she want to move back, anyway? Not that I don't want her home, but she had that place all to herself."

Lorelai smiled. "I think that was the problem."

"What?"

Lorelai pushed her hip away from the door frame to walk further into the nursery. "I think being alone in his place was too much. Everything reminded her of Logan."

Luke nodded in understanding before peaking down at his sleeping daughter who rested on his chest.

"We're gonna make some lunch. You hungry?"

"Yeah. Think you can manage grilled cheese?" he asked while smirking.

"I don't know. It's a real struggle to keep that pesky cheese from sliding off the bread. I think I may need super glue. Hope you like the taste of Elmers."

Luke shrugged. "I think it's non-toxic."

Lorelai smiled."Anything else besides glue and cheese? Oh and bread."

"Nope. What are you having?"

"Something you'll approve of; don't worry."

"You're going through the apples too fast," Luke complained gruffly while smoothing his palm up and down Bella's covered back.

"It's the only fruit I can stand to eat. And you're the one to blame; you're the one whose making me eat one every day. Our apple shortage is your fault, not mine."

Luke sighed. "I'll go to Dooses after lunch."

"Wise man."

"I'll meet you downstairs."

Lorelai smiled further before bending to kiss Luke's cheek, leaving her mark between his stubbley skin. Shen then left a soft kiss on her daughter's cheek before stealing from the room.

_XOX_

_Dooses_

It started out simple. It always did. But then it got complicated. And the complications grew more and more with every passing second.

"Oh, ice cream," Lorelai said.

"Pizza bites," Rory threw in.

"Oh, how I miss the pizza bites. Your mean old step dad hardly buys 'em."

Luke sighed while adding the items.

"Frosting."

"Frosting?" Luke questioned.

"Hello, big day in 3 weeks," Lorelai said while gesturing to Liam who was lying in his bouncy seat, playing with a toy."I need to start making my trial cakes since _someone _won't do it."

"It's not their birthday- not even their half birthday," Luke countered. "They won't even know what's going on."

Lorelai turned to her son and warned,"don't listen to daddy, he's being a grouch."

"Being realisitic," Luke mumbled.

"Same thing."

"We're running dangerously low on poptarts," Rory said.

"Oh! She's right!" Lorelai realized through wide eyes. "We only have two boxes in the emergency stash."

"I am not buying more when there's two in the closet, plus the half full box in the cabinet," Luke refused.

"Or half empty," Lorelai reasoned.

"Tomatoe, tomahtoe," Rory added.

"No poptarts," Luke said firmly.

"But you know the rule Luke- no less than 3 emergency boxes! We only have 2! I think the problem is pretty clear here."

"You need to be diagnosed?"

"Buy the poptarts or no sex," Lorelai warned.

"Ew," Rory murmured.

"Lorelai," Luke growled.

"Luke."

The man narrowed his eyes in determination, but Lorelai just matched his stare. She wasn't giving in.

Rory turned to her brother and whispered, "bet you five bucks she wins." Liam looked up to give his sister a big, happy, toothless grin before jamming a colored plastic key into his mouth.

"If I buy the poptarts, you're having oatmeal twice a week," Luke bargained.

Lorelai turned to Rory and the Yale student shook her head. Lorelai looked back at Luke and said,"no deal."

Luke sighed. He dropped his pen on the table, then leaned back in his chair.

A moment of silence passed before Lorelai murmured the words,"I wasn't kidding about the sex thing."

"And what, you don't want it? I'm the only one?" Luke challenged."Yeah, okay," he scoffed.

"Hi, kids in the room," Rory announced.

"Please, Luke," Lorelai begged while looking at her husband with wide, sad eyes and a protruding bottom lip. "Please buy the poptarts. I promise to love you forever if you do."

Luke tried not to look, he really did, but his eyes gravitated towards her face; he couldn't stop them from going.

"Pretty please," Lorelai added while taking his hand and twining her fingers between his. "It would mean a lot to us. You know how much we love poptarts." Lorelai kissed the corner of Luke's lips before trailing small but promising kisses across his jawline. "Please," she whispered when she reached his ear.

Luke tried to stand his ground, but he fell like a tower of tumbling Jenga blocks in a matter of seconds. "Fine," he grumped.

Lorelai squealed; Rory clapped her hands.

"Thank you! And tonight I'll properly thank you for bending to my will."

Luke shook the scene from his mind and instead focused on the aisle in front of him. What was supposed to be a simple list turned into the Gettysburg Address and all in under two minutes. Luke couldn't help but sigh at the thought.

"Damn women," he complained while turning to the poptart aisle.

"Like you men are a walk in the park."

Luke stopped. His brows furrowed. He knew that voice.

"Tampons, huh? I assume those aren't for you. Or maybe I'm wrong. Things can change in 5 years."

Luke thought his ears were deceiving him. There was no way. But quickly he realized there was only one thing he could do to find out. And so he turned around.

There she was. His eyes widened; her lips did the same.

"What are you doing here?" he croacked.

She held up her camera bag."Assignment."

Luke sighed a breath.

_Later_

_Crapshack_

"Where is he?" Lorelai demanded."We're gonna be late."

"Since when do you care about being late to grandma's?" Rory asked while standing in front of her mom's double sink.

"Since I figured out that the sooner we get there, the sooner we have drinks and the sooner we have drinks, the sooner we have dinner and the sooner we have dinner, the sooner we have desert and the sooner we have desert, the sooner we leave," Lorelai explained while dressing a quiet Bella- well quiet for the moment anyway.

"It's just before 6:00. He still has time."

"But he's been gone since after lunch. I thought he was coming home after Dooses, _then_ going to work."

"Maybe Casear needed help."

"Maybe," Lorelai mused while struggling to snap Bella's pants into place. "You're growing too fast, little girl."

"That's what happens when you feed 'em."

Lorelai peaked up to see her eldest daughter smirking as she breezed across the room.

"Your sister's funny, isn't she?"

Bella smiled a tiny smile.

"Come on, baby, show me those gums," Lorelai urged gently before sweeping her finger around the curve of Bella's chubby cheek.

The baby smiled wildly, the move tickling her.

Lorelai beamed a proud smile. "That's my girl."

_Hartford_

"What? I can't ask why you were late? Where you were all day? I'm your wife, remember?"

"I told you, I was at the diner."

"Funny, cause when I called Caser looking for you, Kirk answered and said you weren't there."

"Kirk answered my phone?"

"You sound surprised"

Luke sighed while putting Lorelai's jeep in park.

"You must've called when I left to come home."

"You did call a few minutes before he came back."

Lorelai turned to glare at her daughter."Before you pick a side, remember who birthed you," she warned.

Rory stuck out her tongue.

"So where were you? And don't even say the batting cages or the juice bar or the lake or the diner because if either of those were true, you would've called and told me."

"I was at the diner," Luke answered gruffly while turning to slip from the car.

Quickly, Lorelai turned to her door to leave, then she hurried around to the driver's side.

"Are you having an affair?"

Luke whipped his head around to look at her. "What? Are you crazy?" he demanded.

"That wasn't you denying it."

Luke opened the passenger door while looking over his shoulder to say, "no, I am not having an affair."

"Maybe you guys should fight about this later. You don't want grandma getting in the middle of it," Rory suggested while waiting patiently for Luke to unhook Liam's car seat so she could get out.

"There's nothing to fight about," Luke denied.

"Think again," Lorelai said while crossing her arms over her chest.

With Liam's car seat in hand, Luke turned to his wife and said, "you're making a big deal out of nothing."

"And you're not telling me the truth."

"Lorelai-"

"What happened to no secrets, Luke? You're hiding something from me, I know it."

Luke sighed at her expression. She looked worried and pissed all at the same time. She had a gift.

"You'll overreact," he said.

Lorelai raised her brows. "Like you did when Christopher called about his grandfather dying? Like how you jumped down my throat and accused me of something I didn't do? Like how you ran off to the diner to sulk? No, I won't do that. I'll let you explain before I jump to any conclusions."

"We should really get inside," Rory murmured while showing up behind them with Bella's carseat hanging from her hand.

"Fine," Lorelai said before turning on her heel and heading for the door.

Rory looked to Luke and said,"whatever happened today, you should just tell mom. If she doesn't know, she'll think about it too much and probably imagine something wrose than what really happened," she warned.

Luke nodded.

_Gilmore Mansion_

As they walked through the foyer, Lorelai took Bella's carseat from Rory while hooking her other arm around her daughter's and together they walked side by side.

"Remember the plan?"

"To make Stars Hollow sound like hell on earth? Yes."

"Good I'm adding a part B," Lorelai whispered.

"What?"

"Ignore Luke and send him flying daggers whenever possible."

"Mom-"

"He's hiding something from me, Rory. I don't care how much he loves me; I won't deal with secrets. Either he tells me and we fight about it or he keeps it to himself and I get to be pissed. That's how marriage works. Remember that."

"Will do."

The girls wondered into the living room with Emily leading the way. Once they entered the room, Lorelai pulled on her daughter's arm to lead her to the small couch, the one that was just big enough for 2. Rory sighed.

"So, sorry if we're late, mom. We had some issues getting here."

"Issues?" Emily questioned while heading to the drink cart.

Luke looked to Lorelai with curiousity as he took a seat across from them. He didn't think she'd air their dirty laundry, especially to her parents.

"Yeah, you know, we hit the usual traffic on the parkway, so no big deal with that, but there was a problem in Stars Hollow."

"There was?" Rory whispered.

Lorelai hit her knee against Rory's

"Oh yeah, big problem," Rory said enthusiastically.

"What problem?" Richard asked while walking into the room.

"Our streets are horrible; they've been clogged for weeks. Night and day, total gridlock. And it's not going to help things when they build that big box store."

"They're building a box store?" Emily asked.

Lorelai nodded with a grim look on her face."Right in the center of town."

"Those things are hideous!" Richard bellowed while taking a seat in his usual chair.

"Yeah, it's going to wipe out all our local businesses; the place'll be a ghost town," Lorelai said while bending to unstrap Bella from her seat. "And if that doesn't chase people away, the fumes sure will, right, honey?"

"Yes, right," Rory agreed quickly.

"Sewer problems," Lorelai explained through a grimace.

"Sewer problems?" Emily questioned while frowning as she absentmindedly handed Luke his usual drink.

"Your public health department needs to be informed, Lorelai," Richard urged.

"They're on strike. Well, they're always on strike. Too bad too, something should really be done about the landfill. Who-da thought they'd allow one within a mile of city limits? Crazy!"

"It's within a mile?" Richard asked as his wife handed him a drink.

"Yeah. It's destroying everyone's land values," Lorelai said sadly while handing Rory her baby sister so she could search the diaper bag for a toy. "And trust me, people have enough trouble with their property in Stars Hollow."

"What trouble?" Emily asked anxiously.

"Oh, you know, criminals stealing cars, then tearing them apart and selling the pieces at chop shops. I'm just glad I don't live on Peach Street. It's terrible there, right, Rory?"

"Terrible," she agreed.

"We call it carjack lane, that's how bad it is."

"You should really talk to your mayor about these problems," Richard warned worriedly.

"Oh, you mean Gropey McGee? I cannot and will not ever put myself in that position again."

Richard and Emily shared concerned looks.

Lorelai turned to Rory to sneak a smile.

"You're shameless," Rory mouthed.

"Thank you," Lorelai said sliently.

_XOX_

Luke sighed while sitting back in his seat. He glanced at the living room to find the twins still fast asleep before forcing himself to focus back on the dinner. Lorelai hadn't spoken a word to him or even looked in his direction since they walked through the door. And to top it off, she was going on and on about how horrible their town was, making up lie after lie. He didn't like that she came up with them so easily. Yeah, he understood why she was doing it, but after all the crap she gave him just an hour ago about no secrets, he didn't like that she had no trouble hiding the truth, even if the lies were silly.

"I remember it being cute last time I saw it," Emily said before taking a bite of chicken.

"That's 'cause you only saw the outside. The inside is horrible. It's dirty and they never have anything in stock. What little they do have are off-brands, which wouldn't be so galling except everything is so far past it's expiration date."

"You should talk to the owner. They shouldn't be selling items that have gone bad," Emily said.

"If the owner weren't Taylor Doose, I would."

"You mean Gropey McGee?" Richard asked.

"Yup. I have to be careful about even walking by him. He's a grabber if you know what I mean."

"Jeez," Luke muttered underneath his breath.

"I'm just lucky he doesn't go into the diner much since that's where I spend a lot of my time. But then again, I'm lucky to even get a table sometimes. There's absolutely nowhere else to eat in town, nowhere good anyway, but even being Luke's wife doesn't guarantee me a meal when I want one," Lorelai explained while frowning.

"That's awful," Emily sympathized before turning to all but glare at Luke."You can't save a table for your wife? She did birth your children if you remember."

"That I did," Lorelai agreed before stabbing a carot with her fork.

"You do own the place; I think you could save her a table every now and then," Emily said sternly.

Luke narrowed his eyes at Lorelai while huffing out a breath. She gave him a look that told him he deserved it.

_XOX_

"Bye, mom, dinner was great!" Lorelai cheered through a happy grin.

"Yes," Emily agreed while smiling warily.

"Have a safe drive back," Richard cautioned.

"Just pray we don't hit any potholes. Stars Hollow is full of 'em. Just another problem," Lorelai said through a frown while picking up Liam's carseat.

Emily looked back to Richard. He couldn't help but frown.

"Okay, well we'll see you at our house next week!" Lorelai called while walking through the doorway.

"Bye grandma; bye grandpa."

Rory followed and after saying goodbye, Luke was quickly behind them.

"Well, I think that was a success," Lorelai announced.

"Who knows if they'll even come next week. I think you scared them away from even crossing the border into Stars Hoolow," Rory said while hopping in the middle of the back seat.

"I think you crossed a line," Luke said. "Several lines."

"And I think you have no right saying anything until you tell me the truth."

"When we get home," he promised.

"The very second we walk through the door," she warned.

Luke sighed.

_TBC..._

**Opinions? I hope you'll share 'em before you go. Thank you for reading!!!**


	7. The One With Luke's Ex Girlfriend

_I could go on and on apologizing for taking so long to update, but that would only prolong the wait to the good stuff. So instead I'll say, I'm sorry and that I'd like to promise long waits won't happen again, but life gets in the way sometimes, so I can't. _

_Anyway, thanks for your patience, everyone! And thank you to those who reviewed the last chapter! Much appreciated! :D_

_Enjoy! _

**Everyday**

**Chapter Seven: The One With Luke's Ex Girlfriend**

_(Early July)_

_Crapshack_

"Start talking."

"They can't put themselves to bed," Luke growled while holding a sleeping Liam to his chest.

"Last I checked you could walk and talk at the same time. Or has all that lying messed with your ability to multitask?" Lorelai asked snidely.

"Hey, I didn't lie!"

"Keep your voice down!" Lorelai hissed while turning on the staircase to glare at him. "You wake her up and _you're_ putting her back to sleep."

Luke sighed as Lorelai whipped back around and hurried up the stairs with Bella's carseat hanging from her hand.

Once they reached the second floor, Lorelai wordlessly turned for their bedroom while Luke continued to the nursery. He knew not to question Lorelai's move. Whenever Bella fell asleep for the night in her carseat, they most always left her in there because the transfer nearly never failed to wake her up. Getting her to sleep in the frist place was hard enough, but trying to lull her back after a broken snooze bared resemblance to a mission impossible, especially if the time was lights out for the night. The Danes' parents would swear their baby girl knew she'd be stuck in the crib for hours and so she put up a fight night after night.

Carefully, Luke eased his slumbering son to his crib. The baby squirmed on impact, a tiny sigh escaping his small lips as he nuzzled his face back and forth across the mattress. After a moment of comforting circles rubbed over his back by his droozy daddy, Liam fell back to a quiet sleep. Luke smiled tiredly at the scene while gently swaying his fingers over his baby's soft hair. He left a kiss to Liam's head and after giving a quick check to make sure the crib railing was secure, Luke stole from the room.

When he wondered into his bedroom, he found his wife standing by their open closet. Her bare back faced him as her fingers unhooked the clasp of her bra. On a different night- a better night, she'd peak over her shoulder and flash him that dazzingly grin. He'd smirk back and before a second more could pass, he'd be on his way to her. 3 seconds later and his arms would be wrapped around her naked tummy. He'd pull her back flush against his chest and with a sly smirk, he'd slide the bra from her chest. The fabric would drop to the floor and he would claim her breasts for himself.

Luke knew that wouldn't happen tonight. And after Lorelai didn't even acknowledge his presence, he knew he shouldn't even watch her undress. So instead of staying where he wanted to be, Luke slipped into the bathroom to brush his teeth and change for the night.

Lorelai heard the bathroom door click closed while she hooked her bra strap to the knob of the closet door. But she didn't pay the noise any attention; instead she focused on the closet as she searched for a shirt to wear to bed. Normally, she wouldn't even think twice about snagging her favorite blue flannel from it's hanger, but she thought better of the move tonight. Wearing that flannel shirt would be like a peace offering and she wasn't ready to make peace. She was annoyed with a splash of anger thrown in. And so instead, Lorelai went to her dresser and pulled out an old, oversized T-shirt. She even put on sweats- ugly, baggy sweatpants.

"No peaking at the goods for you, buddy," Lorelai whispered before falling to the matress with a huff. She crossed her legs Indian style while her face fell to her lap. After a passing glance at Bella to make sure her baby was still sleeping soundly, Lorelai looked away from the floor and back to the bathroom. She narrowed her impatient stare at the door, willing Luke to come out. One more minute and she planned to burst through the room whether he liked it or not.

Luke went about his nightly routine quickly. Being alone, having a minute to think, he realized it was probably best if he get it over with as soon as possible. Just tell her so she could see it was nothing and they could move on. He was hoping she'd let him kiss her goodnight. Maybe hold her to his chest-where she usually slept- as they dozed off. He didn't want the night to end with their bodies on opposite sides of the bed; their backs facing each other.

After brushing his teeth and changing into more comfortable clothes, Luke emerged from the bathroom cautiously and carefully. He pried the door open just enough to peak into the bedroom. Through the thin slit, he managed to catch a glimpse of Lorelai sitting on their bed, her head down as she played with the strings of her pants.

"Not the sweats," Luke groaned quietly. Not only did the sweats mean she wasn't happy, but they mean't he wasn't getting anywhere near her.

"You can't hide in there all night."

"Wha?" Luke muttered dumbly after snapping from his thoughts.

"Just, please, tell me you're not cheating on me. Tell me there isn't someone else. Tell me this is all in my head," Lorelai pleaded after looking up at him.

Luke looked at her curiously, his questioning eyes examining her features. He found that she looked worried, sad, and suddenly he panicked.

"What? Lorelai? I thought you were kidding before. How could you think I'm cheating on you?" he asked softly while walking further into the room.

Lorelai looked back to her legs when she felt the bed dip next to her.

"Lorelai?"

She took a breath, keeping her gaze away from his before saying, "I know you love me. I know you're not _that_ guy, that guy who cheats on his wife, but you've been working really late this past week and you've hardly been calling while you're at the diner and then today..."

"Lorelai, you know Lane and Zach are away. I have to cover her shift."

"I know," she agreed through a nod. "But earlier... I just... when it happens once, you can't help but think, maybe, maybe it-"

"What? Someone cheated on you?" he demanded.

Lorelai nodded. "Years ago. You and I were just coffee guy and customer."

"Who is he? I'll find him right now and beat up his car."

Lorelai couldn't help but look up and give him a watery smile. Luke matched the curve of her lips while brushing a loose curl behind her ear. She sighed while he cuped her cheak in his plam, his finger swaying back and forth over her skin.

"Rory was about 12."

"You don't have to tell me, Lorelai," Luke interrupted gently.

"I want to."

He nodded."Okay."

She took a breath before continuing. "I met him at the Inn. He was a big shot business guy who I apparently mis-judged. When he asked me out, I just said yes. I didn't really think about it. I hadn't been out on a date in a while and after nearly backing out two or three times, Sookie finaly convined me to go. Everything was good for a little while. But I couldn't always go out when he wanted me to with Rory and all and we started having problems. After a month or so, I found him in one of the rooms at the Inn with Andrea. She was a maid there. We were friends. Not after that."

"Jerk," Luke growled.

Lorelai nodded in agreement. "It's not like I loved him or anything, but it still hurt, you know?"

Luke nodded. "I'm sorry. You didn't deserve that. And if I knew where to find this guy, I'd put his head through a wall."

Lorelai managed to crack a small smile."You're sweet, but that's okay. He's not worth looking for. I just need to know that you – I mean we haven't slept together since before the babies, but I just- I know you must want-"

"I'm not cheating on you," Luke interrupted firmly. "I never could. I'd never want to," he added.

"Then what happened today? Why wouldn't you tell me?"

Luke sighed. He took Lorelai's hand in his while watching as the pad of his thumb smoothed back and forth over her wedding rings.

"Rachel's here."

Lorelai blinked. "What?"

"I ran into her at Doose's earlier. She asked if I wanted to get something to eat so we could catch up. We didn't go anywhere fancy or anything and you know, she paid for her own lunch," he assured his wife. "We just went to Al's. She asked about you and we talked about the diner and the town and everything. She told me why she's here and that's it. We ate, she came to the diner and everything got so busy, I just lost track of time. Casear wasn't coming in until after I left so I had to run the place alone for a while. I only got away 'cause Rachel offered to handle things so I could go. And that's it," he ended with a shrug.

"Oh," Lorelai murmured while looking away from Luke as more questions stirred in her mind.

"I know I should've told you earlier but like I said, the diner was busy. I just didn't get a chance to call. And then I didn't want to tell you at dinner with your parents there and Rory and everything. Anyway, I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier," he apologized.

Lorelai nodded."How long is she here for?"

"Just tomorrow. I think she leaves Sunday morning."

"Why is she here?"

Luke shrugged. "An assignment. Something about the 4th of July. I'm not sure."

Lorelai nodded. "So she asked about me?"

Luke smiled. "Yeah. I told her about the twins and everything. She said congratulations. She actually wants to meet them and see you again. She'll be at the festival tomorrow."

"Yeah, good, we'll catch up tomorrow."

Luke gave her hand a squeeze. "So we're okay?"

"Yeah," Lorelai agreed while looking up to give her husband a smile. "We're okay."

And though that were true, Lorelai still had some questions. And so she knew just where she'd be, bright and early tomorrow morning.

_Next Morning_

Luke was in the bathroom when he heard faint whimpers sounding through the baby monitor. He picked up the device from the sink, turned up the volume, then flipped on the switch to his razor to shave. The man sliced and diced carefully, leaving nothing but very faint stubble coating his cheeks- per Lorelai's request of course. She made it clear to him that while she appreciated his clean, smooth skin, she preferred the rough and tumble look. She said it brought out his inner caveman which she deemed to be sexy. She said some scruff combined with his bare chest made her wanna rip his pants off and ride him like a bull.

Luke smiled at the thought while looking back at his reflection in the mirror. After approving, he turned his buzzing razor off then realized that he'd gotten lost in his thoguhts a little too long as loud cries now filled the small room.

"I got it!" Lorelai called from the bedroom.

At the voice, Luke's brows furrowed in confusion. He hurried to swing open the bathroom door in time to see Lorelai running from the bedroom. With his curiousity peaked, Luke walked further into the room to find makeup scattered across the comforter, the cosmetics circling a small mirror. He looked to the vanity and saw an outfit hanging from the chair. And just to confirm he wasn't going crazy, Luke peaked at the alarm clock. He saw that it was just shy of 6:00 a.m- the time 5:52 to be exact.

"Must be the end of the world," Luke murmured.

_Nursery_

Lorelai swung into the nursery with a happy smile on her face. She passed one empty crib to head for the one that contained her crying son.

"Hey there, mini Luke," she cooed while reaching for the angry baby.

When Liam felt familiar hands wrap around his small body, the wailing faltered just enough for him to look up through teary eyes at his mommy.

Lorelai smiled while pulling the boy close to her chest. She craddled his head to her shoudler while swaying back and forth. Small hiccups filled the room as Lorelai circled the rug.

"Calm before the storm?" she asked a moment later while rubbing his sleeper clad body. "Probably another minute before the next wave hits, huh?" Liam answered with a hiccup. "Okay, I get it- breakfast time for the fussy boy."

Lorelai walked over to the rocking chair and took a seat. After pulling open her shirt, she guided Liam to her breast and the baby began drinking peacefully, only stopping here and then to hiccup.

"You were probably thinking 'what the hell?' when you saw me before, weren't you?" Lorelai murmrued through a content smile as she slowly rocked back and forth. "Daddy usually does the first found, but mommy has something important to do today, so she was up early. And becuase she was up early, she thought she'd sub for the old man. Which is a good thing for you, huh? Early bird gets the boob juice first."

"What do you have to do?" Luke asked while appearing in the doorway.

Lorelai looked up to find her husband fastening his watch around his wrist.

"Oh, you know, places to go, people to see."

Luke raised his brows in question. "At six in the morning?"

"I'm not leaving 'till seven."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Not gonna tell me? Now whose keeping secrets?" Luke challenged gruffly.

Lorelai shrugged while returning her eyes to Liam, whose own blue orbs were falling closed as he ate at his normal leisurely pace. "Just getting a jump on things early today."

"At six in the morning?"

"What's with the 20 questions, Barbara Walters?"

"You're never up this early, let alone, you know, done and everything," he explained vaguely while waving at her.

"Done?"

"You know, make-up on your face and your hair is... brushed."

Lorelai grinned. "I just woke up early today, no big deal. And since I was awake, I figured I'd put make-up on and brush my hair."

"So the fact that you're not sleeping right now has nothing to do with the pot of coffee you downed?" Luke challenged.

"No it doesn't," she answered primly.

Luke flashed her a look before going to the changing table to get a diaper and everything ready.

"I'm just going to visit a friend, okay? And I want said visit to occur before I have to be at the Inn, so I had to wake up early," Lorelai explained while smoothing her fingers over her baby's dark hair.

"You weren't up when I went in the shower."

"No, I was up _whlie_ you were in the shower."

"So who do you have to see before you go the Inn?"

"I told you, a friend."

"None of your friends are up this early."

"You are."

"I don't count."

Lorelai gasped in surprise. "How can you say that?! Of course you count! You're Lucas Danes! You're special! And if I ever hear you degrading yourself again, I will slap you with a spatula!"

Luke rolled his eyes while muttereing a jeez under his breath.

"You know what I mean."

"No I don't."

Luke sighed. "Lorelai."

"Luke."

"You're going to see Rachel, aren't you?"

Lorelai frowned. "What makes you say that?"

"Wild guess."

"I can niether confirm nor deny that."

"Yeah, well, if you are, you wasted your time getting up so early. She said she's not a morning person anymore," Luke said through a careless shrug before disappearing to the hallway.

"What!? No! I woke up at 5:30 in the morning, Luke! 5:30 in the fricken morning!"

"That's too bad!" Luke's faint voice called.

Lorelai huffed a fustrated breath as her head fell back to the rocking chair.

_Later_

_The Inn_

"I think I'm dying."

"I still don't get it."

"Get what?" Lorelai groaned while lying her head down on the counter.

"Why you were up at 5 in the morning," Sookie said while mixing pancake batter.

"Told you. Rachel."

"Yes, but why couldn't you see her later, like on your lunch break or something?"

"I didn't want to risk missing her before the festival."

"Why though?"

Lorelai sighed while rolling her head to face her best friend, but she didn't open her eyes. "She and Luke spent the day together yesterday."

Sookie's eyes widened as the large wooden spoon she directed around a bowl stilled in her hand.

"Your lack of a verbal reaction just verifies my need to talk to her," Lorelai said while peaking an eye open.

"You don't think she and Luke-"

"No."

"Yeah, no, of course not," Sookie waved off.

"She's here on assignment or something; I didn't get the details. That's why I wanted to talk to her."

"Where is she staying? How long is she here for?"

"Luke said she leaves tomorrow," Lorelai spoke slowly as her brows furrowed. "I don't know where she's staying."

"You didn't ask?"

Lorelai shook her head. "I guess I didn't think to."

"I wonder why she didn't stay here. We're the only Inn in town," Sookie commented while making breakfast.

Lorelai's eyes widened as suddenly she pushed away from the counter.

"What? What's wrong?" Sookie panicked.

"He wouldn't," she whispered.

"Who wouldn't?"

Lorelai didn't answer, but instead she jumped to her feet, then practically ran from the kitchen, leaving nothing but a swinging door and a confused Sookie behind.

_Diner_

The breakfast rush was in full swing when Lorelai burst through the door. Her eyes immiediatley surveryed the room as she searched for Luke. But instead what she found was Rachel wearing _Luke's _flannel shirt as she stood behind _his_ counter filling _his_ customer's coffee mug to the brim.

"This is not happening; this is not happening," Lorelai repeated. "Oh, man, talk about a blast from the past," she murmured while putting her hand to her forhead as a scene from yeras ago filled her mind. Rory had broken up with Dean. They went to the diner at an un Godly hour. Rachel was wearing his red flannel, working behind the counter. Luke came down. Rachel kissed him.

Lorelai closed her eyes firmly, banishing the thoughts from her brain. She knew there was an explanation; there had to be. If Luke wanted to live another day, there had to be.

And then, as if right on cue, Luke showed up behind her.

"Oh, hey. What are you doing here?"

Lorelai spun around to find Luke standing behind her, the man carrying two Dooses market bags.

"Why? Did I come when I wasn't supposed to? Didn't want me to catch you in the act! Were you hoping to keep your little secret just a while longer!? 'Oh no, don't worry, Lorelai, nothing happened; I could never cheat on you. We just had lunch!'" she minicked.

At the sudden outburst, every pair of eyes flew to Lorelai like magnets pulled to fridge.

Luke put down the bags on the table next to him, right where Babette and Morey were sitting.

"I hope you don't fight like this infront-a those babies!" Babette boosted.

Ignoring his neighbors, Luke grabbed Lorelai's arm and led her to the back.

"If you think we're gonna make out in the store room, you got another thing comin', bucko!"

Luke all but dragged his wife passed the counter and to the back where he then pointed towards the store room before shutting the door and looking at her expectantly.

"What?" Lorelai asked with a frown on her face as she adjusted the purse strap over her shoulder.

"What the hell was that?"

"Oh, like you've never seen me freak out before."

"You want the whole damn town to know our business?" he demanded.

"You're the one letting your ex _girlfriend_ behind the counter, serving people coffee while wearing _your_ shirt! Thanks to you, the return of Rachel is all we're gonna hear about at the festival! Why the hell is she even wearing your shirt, anyway? And why is she here at eight in the morning?"

Luke sighed. "She needed somwhere to stay last night and I thought it was stupid for her to pay for a hotel when she could sleep up there for free," he reasoned while waving his hand at the ceiling. "And since I'm not using the place, I thought why not."

"How very practical of you," Lorelai said while crossing her arms over her chest.

Luke went on. "When I came in this morning to open, she was already doing it. She said she'd work until the festival as a thank you for letting her stay upstairs. I told her she didn't have to, but she insisted and with Lane away, I could use the help."

Lorelai rolled her eyes to the wall.

"You should hire someone until they come back," she said a moment later. "Then you'd be home more."

"I've been trying. Two kids came in but they've never worked anywhere and can only work on weekends. That doesn't really help me," he explained softly.

Lorelai nodded in understanding. "She's leaving tomorrow, right?"

Luke nodded.

"Fine," Lorelai said while turning to leave but Luke reached to stop her before she could go.

"Lorelai?"

"What?"

"You're okay, right? _We're _okay?"

Lorelai flashed a smile, one Luke instantly knew to be fake.

"Yeah, we're fine. I have to get back to the Inn."

Luke nodded, though he was hesitant to let her go.

_XOX_

"Lorelai, wait!" Rachel called when she caught sight of the Gilmore heading towards the door.

Caustiously, Lorelai turned around to find Rachel- her husband's very serious ex girlfriend- coming towards her.

"Hey, Rachel. What's going on?" Lorelai asked uncomfortably while tucking her hair behind her ear.

"What do you think about lunch?"

"I think it's one hell of a prequel to dinner."

Rachel laughed. "Forgot you had the wittey thing goin' on."

"Oh yeah, me and the wit go way back; been friends since I was in diapers."

Rachel continued to smile. "So you up for a meal with an old friend?"

"Oh, well-"

"And don't worry, we'll eat early so we don't miss the festival. How's 12 sound?"

"Oh, I, uh-"

"Listen, I know this may seem a little weird, me asking you to lunch, but I was really hoping we could catch up. And since I might be sticking around for a little while I think it's important that we talk about-"

"Wait, I'm sorry; you're gonna be here for a while?"

"Yeah, maybe. I really think we should talk," Rachel pressed at the uncomfortable look on Lorelai's face.

"Then lunch it is," Lorelai said, though the look on her face betrayed her words.

"Great. So how 'bout that Inn of yours? I hear you own the Dragonfly."

"Yeah, yeah I do."

"So lunch there? 12:00?"

"Can we make it 11:00? I had breakfast earlier than any human being should even be awake to have breakfast." That and she was dying to get the full story.

Rachel laughed. "I'll be there."

"Great. Well I'll see you later, Rachel."

"Bye, Lorelai."

_Town_

"So the babies are okay?"

"Liam is. He's watching Days of Our Lives with me and by the look on his face, he's laughing on the inside."

"And his big sister is laughing on the outside?" Lorelai asked knowingly.

"Yup."

"And what about the little girl?"

Rory frowned while looking down at her sister. "She won't let me put her down."

"Yeah, she can be a real B-word sometimes."

"Yes, I think she's a quite a beauty too."

Lorelai grinned. "So thank you for playing nanny until Luke and I get this two jobs-two babies thing worked out."

"Well you could always stay home, be a soccer mom."

"Pft. And In what alternate universe do you see that happening?"

"The one where you're married to Kirk."

"So the non-existent one?"

Rory smiled. "So I heard Rachel's back."

"Nice segue."

"Kirk called to tell me. He said he can set you up on eharmony if you hit the market again."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "I know she's here. I found out last night."

"You did? How?"

"From Luke. That's where he was yesterday- having lunch with Rachel. And speaking of lunch, Rachel's meeting me at the Inn later for a bite. She wants to catch up."

"Oh... well, good."

"I guess."

"You always liked Rachel, didn't you?"

"To a certain extent. She definitely rated better than that skinny, bitch, bleach- blond, bimbo lawyer Luke married.

Rory's eyes widened. "Wow, mom; don't hold back."

Lorelai smiled while switching the phone to her other ear. "The hate was a mutual thing, babe. At least Rachel and I got along."

"So you're saying you weren't jealous of Rachel?" Rory challenged.

"I'm saying... Rachel left. She was gone, and I thought for good. She didn't cheat on Luke. She didn't make me feel like an idiot whenever I talked to her. I mean what is it with lawyers and their constant need to act a thousand times smarter than everyone else? They're always using super colossal giant words and carrying around 20 brief cases and the bluetooth and the smart phone and the plam pilot and the bitchyness. Hate lawyers."

"You're not a Nicole fan. Got it."

"Nope. Never was; never will be. Anyway, I guess we'll see what happens. I'll call you later, okay? I'm heading back to the Inn."

"Okay. If you can't call, we'll just meet up at the festival."

"Bye, hon."

_The Inn_

"What time is it?"

Sookie looked up at the clock that hung from the wall. "10:57."

Lorelai sighed. "My date'll be here any minute."

"Luke's coming? Why don't you sound happy about that?"

"No, not Luke. Rachel, remember?"

"Oh, right, right."

"Yeah."

"Lorelai," Michel droned while taking his sweet time walking towards the kitchen. "Someone is here for you."

"And that's lunch," Lorelai announced while hopping from the counter. "Wish me luck."

"Good luck!" Sookie shouted.

Lorelai brushed past Michel while heading for the dining room. When she got there she found Derek seating Rachel.

"Hey; good, you're all set."

"Yeah," Rachel agreed while smiling at Lorelai as she sat down. "The place is amazing. When I left, it was falling apart and I just can't believe how good it looks. You really turned it into something great."

"Thousands and thousands of dollars later and wuhla, an Inn appeared," Lorelai said through a grin.

"Luke told me it's been more than 2 years. That's incredible," Rachel awed.

"Yeah, we reached that mile stone in May. Looks like we got lucky," Lorelai said while looking around to admire her dream come true.

"I'll say."

"So what are you in the mood for? Sookie'll make you anything you want."

"Grilled chicken salad looks good," Rachel decided after looking through the menu.

"So you're a salad kinda gal, huh?"

"Only when it's drenched in Ranch dressing and filled with anything that's isn't green to cover up all that unnecessary lettuce."

Lorelai smiled wide. "You know what, that does sound good."

"Hey, Lorelai. You guys know what you want?" Derek asked.

"Yes. Two grilled chicken salads. Extra chicken and extra dressing, please. And tell Sookie she can skimp on the lettuce and she's free to go nuts with the croutons," she said before looking to Rachel. "Iced tea? Super sweetened?"

Rachel nodded enthusiastically.

"Coming up," Derek promised.

Lorelai turned to Rachel. "So tell me, how's life of the traveling photographer treatin' ya? You must of tasted every kind-a peanut known to man by now."

_Later_

_Square_

"Fire in the hole!" Kirk shouted before bolting away from the exploding firework.

Lorelai giggled as Kirk ran yelling and screaming like a little girl. She watched as the over grown child zig-zagged past various bodies that crowded the square until he reached safety at the gazebo where he took shelter behind the large structure as bursts of red, white and blue filled the sky.

"How the hell did the town whimp land that gig?" Luke grumbled while coming up behind her.

Lorelai turned around with a bright smirk lighting her face. "I'm pretty sure he's been begging Taylor about it since last year's End of the Summer Madness Fest."

"Probably."

Lorelai widened her grin while leaning down to the stroller Luke had parked in front of him.

"I'm surprised she's not wailing by now."

Luke shrugged. "I think she likes it. She was looking up at the last round before."

"Who would-a thought," Lorelai murmured while brushing her finger along the plump curve of Bella's cheek. The little girl smiled in return, the move causing the pacifier between her lips to fall to her chest. "You don't need this anyway," Lorelai reasoned while talking the binky away. But immediately she could see that her daughter didn't agree with the notion as her tiny lips trembled and her little face scrunched up in anger as she searched for her pacifier. "Here, here, this is better," Lorelai assured the panic stricken baby while putting a thawed teething ring to her lips. Bella's face relaxed as Lorelai spread the ring across her closed mouth. After taking a moment to decide she was okay with the replacment, Bella opened her mouth and reached her chubby little hand to hold the ring.

Lorelai sighed in relief. "Melt down avoided."

Luke nodded in agreement.

"Where's her counterpart?"

"With Rory. He didn't like the noise so Rory took him for a spin around the block- her words, not mine."

Lorelai smiled. "Leaving you with your little sweatheart."

"Got my big sweatheart too."

Lorelai frowned. "Did you just call me fat?"

Luke rolled his eyes. "Com'ere," he ordered gruffly.

With a sassy smile, Lorelai walked around the stroller to fall into Luke's waiting arms. She fell to his chest and he wrapped his arm around her back while keeping his other hand securely around the stroller handle. With a wide smile, Lorelai tucked her hair behind her ear while peaking in front of Luke's neck to look up at the color show that was bursting in the sky.

"Pretty," she murmured.

"Yeah, you are."

Lorelai peaked back at him. "Am I still your best girl?"

Luke nodded firmly. "Always."

"What about the little one? I see the way you look at her. And when she smiles at you? Forget it; you're a goner everytime."

"Close second," Luke assured her while rubbing his hand up and down her back. "

"So I shouldn't be jealous?"

Luke shook his head while smiling at her. "She's a little you, Lorelai. Your eyes, your smile, your nose-"

"Your hair," Lorelai added while reaching for the brown curls that spilled from the bottom of his ballcap. "She's got little curls coming in at the bottom, just like you," Lorelai said through a mesmorized voice as she twirled a curl around her finger.

"I only see you," he said roughly.

Lorelai couldn't help but smile as a light blush tinted her cheeks. "You, Luke Danes, can make a girl weak in the knees. Did you know that?"

Luke shook his head as a soft smile settled on his lips.

"Well you can. So be careful not to use your powers for evil. I only date good guys.

"You only date me," he corrected firmly.

"Oh, right right; I think there was something about that in the vows. I gotta remember to read the fine print more carefully next time."

Luke sighed. Lorelai flashed him a big smile.

"What happened at lunch?" he asked while brushing her dark, wavy locks over her shoulder. "Besides you eating like it was the last supper."

Lorelai smirked. "You know I had lunch with Rachel."

"Yeah; what happened?" he pried.

"We ate; we talked. Nothing exciting."

"Talked about what?" he asked carefully.

"At ease, Solider. I know she's thinking about sticking around for a bit. She told me's been non-stop for the last two years and she was thinking of cooling it for a while."

"And, uh, you're okay with that?"

"After what I found out? Yeah, I'm okay with that."

"What did you find out?"

"That she's in not here for you. That she knows you're happy with me. That she's glad you listened to her."

"What?"

Lorelai smiled. "She told me about what happened when she left," Lorelai explained while toying with a button on his flannel.

Luke sighed.

"You should've told me," Lorelai whispered.

"I did."

"You should've told me then."

Luke silently shook his head. "You were with someone else."

Lorelai nodded. "Max. You were gonna tell me that night, weren't you? But then he came over." Lorelai looked to Luke's face. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

Luke nodded. "I have you now; I'm good," he said simply.

Lorelai smiled. "Well, in any event, Rachel's not a threat to me. She can stay for as long as she likes."

"And while she'd like to stay for a while, she knows she'd miss her work and just end up back on a plane in less than a week."

Lorelai turned around at the voice to see Rachel standing behind her.

"Hey. Get any good shots?"

"Oh yeah. Plenty for the magazine. Our 'Small Town 4th of July Festivities'' special will be filled with drunken gossips and fighting townsmen. Ah, it's good to be home."

Lorelai smirked while linking both arms around Luke to hug her man. Luke smiled before kissing the top of her head.

"Oh, hold that! Don't move!" Rachel warned while stepping back to frame the shot. She took the picture then showed the display screen to Luke and Lorelai. "I'll call this one a happy couple."

"Oh, look at us," Lorelai awed.

"So, what do you think, Luke? This one better than the last one?" Rachel asked.

Luke thought back to the photo that she snapped 5 years ago; the one where he and Lorelai sat side by side on a bench at the firelight festival. They were just friends.

Now they were so much more.

"Yeah," he said, "much better."

**The End. For now. **

I hate to do this, to end something so abruptly, but I'm going to slap a complete on this baby, at least for now. Some time in the future, I will pick this series back up again either with new chapters or with a sequel that will open with some sort of time jump. I love this story; I love writing Luke and Lorelai with kids, but I just have so many other projects going on right now that I want to put this one on the back burner for a while. The reason I'm choosing to end this one for a bit is because at least in one of my other stories, Luke and Lorelai will start a family. I don't want to keep writing the same thing over and over again so I'm going to put this story aside for a while and focus on my other stories. But I want to thank everyone whose been reading from the start and tell you all to stayed tuned because this series isn't over. Thank you!


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